Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) · 2020-07-01 · materials by 2020 against the...
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Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2019
Transcript of Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) · 2020-07-01 · materials by 2020 against the...
Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking
(BBI JU)
ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT 2019
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Copyright © 2020 Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking
In accordance with Article 16 of the Statutes of the BBI JU annexed to Council
Regulation (EU) No 560/2014, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2018/121 of 23
January 2018, and with Article 20 of the Financial Rules of the BBI JU.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................................ 4
FACTSHEET........................................................................................................................... 6
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ 10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 15
1. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANNUAL WORK PLAN 2019 ........................................ 23
1.1. 2019 KEY OBJECTIVES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS ................................................................................... 24
1.1.1. Overall operational objectives from AWP 2019 .................................................................... 24
1.1.2. Management objectives and achievements 2019 ................................................................. 25
1.1.3. Associated risks ......................................................................................................................... 27
1.2. RESEARCH & INNOVATION ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................ 28
1.2.1. Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) ................................................................ 28
1.2.2. BBI JU types of actions and scale of project impact (Technology Readiness Level) .......... 30
1.2.3. Overview of BBI JU Calls and Project Portfolio ...................................................................... 32
1.2.4. Project Monitoring Activities .................................................................................................... 43
1.2.5. Synergies with other initiatives ............................................................................................... 43
1.3. CALLS FOR PROPOSALS AND GRANT INFORMATION ............................................................................. 48
1.3.1. Progress against KPIs / Statistics ............................................................................................ 48
1.3.2. Horizon 2020 KPIs and cross-cutting issues .......................................................................... 49
1.3.3. BBI JU project portfolio: BBI JU specific KPIs .......................................................................... 71
1.3.4. Monitoring the contribution to the expected environmental and socio-economic impacts
of projects ........................ …………………………………………………………………………………………………………100
1.3.5. Monitoring the leverage effect of the initiative ................................................................... 120
1.3.6. Evaluation: procedures and global evaluation outcome, redress, statistics ................... 123
1.4. CALLS FOR TENDERS ..................................................................................................................... 133
1.5. DISSEMINATION AND INFORMATION ON PROJECTS’ RESULTS ............................................................. 134
1.6. OPERATIONAL BUDGET EXECUTION ................................................................................................ 138
1.7. IN-KIND AND FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS ....................................................................................... 140
2. SUPPORT TO OPERATIONS ..................................................................................... 146
2.1. COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES ......................................................................................................... 147
2.1.1. Promoting BBI JU Call 2019: BBI JU Info Day & Brokerage event 2019 ............................ 148
2.1.2. Communicating the impact of BBI JU ................................................................................... 150
2.2. LEGAL AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................... 160
2.3. BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT .................................................................................... 161
2.4. PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS ................................................................................................... 171
2.5. IT AND LOGISTICS ......................................................................................................................... 173
2.6. HUMAN RESOURCES ..................................................................................................................... 174
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3. GOVERNANCE .......................................................................................................... 178
3.1. GOVERNING BOARD ..................................................................................................................... 179
3.2. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.................................................................................................................... 182
3.3. STATES REPRESENTATIVES GROUP ................................................................................................. 184
3.4. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ................................................................................................................. 189
4. INTERNAL CONTROL FRAMEWORK ....................................................................... 193
4.1. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................... 195
4.2. EX-ANTE CONTROLS ON OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE ....................................................................... 196
4.3. EX-POST CONTROLS OF OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE AND ERROR RATES IDENTIFIED ............................ 198
4.4. AUDIT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS ............................................................................. 204
4.5. INTERNAL AUDIT........................................................................................................................... 205
4.6. RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST ............................................................................. 206
4.7. COMPLIANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL CONTROL ............................................................... 209
5. MANAGEMENT ASSURANCE ................................................................................... 212
5.1. ASSESSMENT OF THE ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT BY THE GOVERNING BOARD .................................... 213
5.2. ELEMENTS SUPPORTING ASSURANCE .............................................................................................. 219
5.3. RESERVATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 220
5.4. OVERALL CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 221
6. DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE .............................................................................. 222
6.1 DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE .............................................................................................................. 223
7. ANNEXES .................................................................................................................. 224
7.1. ORGANISATIONAL CHART .............................................................................................................. 225
7.2. STAFF ESTABLISHMENT PLAN ......................................................................................................... 226
7.3. PUBLICATIONS FROM PROJECTS...................................................................................................... 228
7.4. PATENTS FROM PROJECTS .............................................................................................................. 253
7.5. SCOREBOARD OF HORIZON 2020 COMMON KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS .................................. 254
7.6. INDICATORS FOR MONITORING CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES ................................................................... 266
7.7. SCOREBOARD OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SPECIFIC TO BBI JU ............................................. 273
7.8. FINAL ANNUAL ACCOUNTS ............................................................................................................. 276
7.9. MATERIALITY CRITERIA .................................................................................................................. 334
7.10. RESULTS OF TECHNICAL REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 337
7.11. LIST OF MEETINGS, EVENTS AND CONFERENCES WHERE BBI JU PARTICIPATED OR ORGANISED IN 2018 338
7.12. LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................... 344
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FACTSHEET
Name Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking
Objectives
The objectives of BBI JU are:
To contribute to the implementation of Regulation (EU) No
1291/2013 and in particular Part III of Decision 2013/743/EU;
To contribute to the objectives of the BBI Initiative towards a more
resource-efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and
increasing economic growth and employment, particularly in rural
areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based
industries in Europe based on advanced biorefineries that source
their biomass sustainably, and in particular to:
demonstrate technologies that enable new chemical
building blocks, new materials, and new consumer products
from European biomass which replace the need for fossil-
based inputs;
develop business models that integrate economic actors
along the whole value chain from supply of biomass to
biorefinery plants to consumers of bio-based materials,
chemicals and fuels, including by means of creating new
cross-sector interconnections and supporting cross-industry
clusters; and
set up flagship biorefinery plants that deploy the
technologies and business models for bio-based materials,
chemicals and fuels and demonstrate cost and performance
improvements to levels that are competitive with fossil-
based alternatives.
The mission of BBI JU is to implement the Strategic Innovation and
Research Agenda (SIRA) developed by the Bio-based Industries
Consortium (so called BIC) and endorsed by the EC. BBI JU
implements its programme as the catalyst to enable the EU and
Industry to align their strategy and vision while respecting Horizon
2020 principles of openness, transparency and excellence for the
call for proposals organised each year.
Founding Legal
Act
Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014, of 6 May 2014, as amended
by Council Regulation (EU) 2018/121 of 23 January 2018
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Executive
Director Philippe Mengal
Governing
Board1
EC members (As designated by
their post according to
Commission Decision 4255
(2014) of 27 June, as amended
by the Commission Decisions
3268 (2016) of 6 June 2016 and
1811 (2017) of 23 March 2017))
BIC members
Wolfgang BURTSCHER, Deputy
Director-General, DG RTD
(Chair)
John BELL, Director for "Healthy
Planet", DG RTD/C
Carlo PETTINELLI, Director for
"Chemicals and Consumer
Industries", DG GROW/D
Peter DROELL, Director for
"Industrial Technologies", DG
RTD/F
Nathalie SAUZE-VANDEVYVER,
Director for "Quality Policy,
Research & Innovation,
Outreach”, DG AGRI/B
Mat QUAEDVLIEG,
Manufacturing SFPE, Vice-
President Strategic Business
Project, SAPPI (Vice-Chair)
Gloria GAUPMANN, Head of
Public Affairs, Technology and
Innovation, CLARIANT
Hans KEUKEN, CEO Process
Design Center
Alex MICHINE, CEO METGEN
Bill MORRISSEY, Bioeconomy
programme manager, GLANBIA
Other bodies States Representatives Group (SRG)
Scientific Committee (SC)
Staff 23 staff members
2019 Budget2 Commitment appropriations: EUR 141 624 1993
Payment appropriations: EUR 182 113 5874
1 Composition in the last Governing Board meeting December 2019.
2 Total budget includes operational budget (used for funding selected projects) & administrative (used for funding Programme Office activities).
3 Voted commitment appropriations were EUR 141 297 325, subsequently amended to include unused appropriations from prior years.
4 Voted payment appropriations were EUR 199 241 275 and the amendment reduced the amount because of
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Budget
implementation
Commitment appropriations: total consumption EUR 123 788 485
(87.4%)
Title 1 – EUR 2 787 833 (91.3%)
Title 2 – EUR 2 770 969 (92.4%)
Title 3 – EUR 118 229 682 (87.2%)
Payment appropriations: total consumption EUR 138 168 121
(75.9%)
Title 1 – EUR 2 575 348 (81.7%)
Title 2 – EUR 2 175 052 (73.6%)
Title 3 – EUR 133 417 722 (75.8%)
Grants 101 signed grants for a total value of EUR 599 419 910
Strategic and
Innovation
Research
Agenda
The original SIRA (2013) has undergone a process of revision which
started in 2016 and which has delivered the adjusted SIRA
(published in July 2017).
Call
implementation
Calls
launched/implemented in
2019:
2018
(Implemented)
2019
(Launched)
Number of proposals
submitted: 144 184
Number of eligible
proposals: 140 178
Number of proposals
funded or retained for
funding:
19 23 (retained)
Global project portfolio
(since the setting-up): 101 124
Number and value of
tenders (if any):
No Horizon 2020 tenders were
launched
Participation,
including SMEs
Total number of participations in projects funded and retained for
funding5: 1 466
of which:
inferior needs and these appropriations were shifted to following years.
5 The data refers to all projects funded (Calls 2014-2018) and retained for funding (Call 2019) by the end of activity year 2019.
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% of SME beneficiaries: 39%6
% of private-for-profit companies: 60%
6 The data refers to unique beneficiaries.
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FOREWORD
At the moment of writing these lines, Europe is still fighting the COVID-19 crisis, one of the
biggest challenges in its history that has caused tremendous human and economic losses.
It is harder to look back in this situation, as all our efforts go to rebuilding the future. Our
past can however teach us valuable lessons, and I am convinced, as a true European at
heart, that tomorrow will find us stronger. With this idea in mind, I am happy to see that
2019 has been an important year for BBI JU and its community.
In 2019, BBI JU set its priorities on consolidating the project portfolio and maintaining the
highest standards of quality and efficiency while absorbing a growing workload. Another
important priority was to highlight the impactful results of the initiative to a wider group
of stakeholders, as well as to contribute to the discussions on the next EU’s framework
programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe.
You will see in various chapters of this report that BBI JU has performed very well and its
achievements are well aligned with the initial goals. BBI JU was once more confirmed as a
high impact initiative that since its inception has already contributed to the future EU
Green Deal. The two main positive impacts of BBI JU so far have been the structuring
effect in organising the value chains across sectors and the innovation-driven mobilising
effect of all key stakeholders.
The structuring of the sector and its value chains are essential if we want to maximise new
investments and create jobs that will eventually contribute to the socio-economic
objectives of the EU Green Deal. Just consider that the nine Flagship biorefineries
currently funded by BBI JU will generate 3,300 direct jobs and more than 10,000 indirect
ones. For €195 million BBI JU funding, the industry is investing €1.2 billion. Most
importantly, these biorefineries are the first-of-their-kind in Europe with a high capacity
of replication, thus multiplying their impact. None of these achievements would have
been possible without the successful cooperation with our two founding partners, the
European Commission and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), as well as the
support from our two advisory bodies. This year, as in the past, I would like to thank all
our stakeholders for their advice, tireless work and open dialogue.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the BBI JU Business Continuity Plan developed and tested
during 2019 entered into force on 12 March 2020, allowing all staff to run all BBI JU
operations remotely from home. Thanks to an early preparation and the dedication of the
BBI JU staff, all activities of the programme office are well executed, coordinated and
monitored.
Sadly, the outbreak has once again highlighted the extent to which Europe depends on
the import of critical strategic raw materials - fossil materials, but also minerals like
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phosphorus and potassium for soil fertilisation and proteins where imports make for
around 70% of our needs. The message is clear - a strong European bio-based sector
would offer Europe and its citizens an opportunity to decrease its dependency on imports
and foster intra-EU trade in a sustainable way, while opening new opportunities for
sustainable economic growth. It will be such a game changer in the fight against climate
change and developing a new sustainable economy!
I fully support the opinion voiced by the President of the European Commission that the
EU Green Deal will be our motor for Europe’s recovery7. The bio-based sector has the
potential to become an essential contributor to the Europe’s green recovery. Putting
public funding into an iPPP is key to maximise its socio-economic impact on the sector,
while also leveraging other sources of funding. Within BBI JU, 40% of the funding goes to
SMEs and 30% to universities and RTOs. Around 80% of the projects report increased
collaboration between universities and companies. This is the result of investment in
promoting the initiative and widening the participation via information days and other
events, supported by our ambassadors from the State Representative Group and
Scientific Committee members.
Under the current circumstances, I think that the BBI JU Virtual Info Day 2020 with more
than 4,500 participants from 45 countries and nearly 2,500 remote one-to-one networking
meetings is a considerable achievement demonstrating the mobilisation of the sector. It
also helped all our key stakeholders to keep the momentum and continue building a
circular, sustainable and competitive bio-based sector in Europe.
I am proud of the BBI JU team’s achievements last year. Despite the increased workload,
we have delivered excellent work maintaining high levels of efficiency, effectiveness and
motivation. I want to thank them for their enthusiasm and dedication.
We are facing very challenging times, both at professional and personal level, yet we
should celebrate the solidarity among Europeans and acknowledge the efforts put
forward by the Union and the EU Institutions to tackle the crisis.
BBI JU is in the frontline to help in the delivery of the EU Green Deal, and we are up for
the challenge, together with our community, to help deliver a green recovery for Europe
in the years to come.
Enjoy the reading!
Philippe Mengal
Executive Director of BBI JU
7 https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/topnews/M-004745
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ABOUT BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES JOINT UNDERTAKING (BBI JU)
The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) was established on 6 May 2014 by
Council Regulation No 560/2014, published in the OJ on 7 June 2014, entering into force
on 27 June 20148 (the ‘Council Regulation’).The BBI JU is the body entrusted with the
implementation of the BBI Initiative, for which a public-private partnership has been
established between the European Union, represented by the European Commission (EC),
and the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), with total contributions from both
partners of EUR 3.705 billion between 2014 and 2024, of which almost 75% will be
contributed by the industry. BBI JU aims to bring together all relevant stakeholders to
establish innovative bio-based industries as a competitive sector in Europe, ranging from
primary production, large industry, SMEs, clusters, trade associations, academia and RTOs
to end users.
The mission of BBI JU is to implement the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda
(SIRA) developed by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (so called BIC) and endorsed by
the EC. BBI JU operates its programme as the catalyst to enable the EU and industry to
align their strategy and vision while respecting Horizon 2020 principles of openness,
transparency and excellence for the call for proposals organised each year.
The objective of BBI JU and of its members is to contribute to the development of
sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe based on advanced
biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably; and in particular to:
demonstrate technologies that enable new chemical building blocks, new
materials, and new consumer products from European biomass, and which
replace the need for fossil-based inputs;
develop business models that integrate economic actors along the whole value
chain from supply of biomass to biorefinery plants to consumers of bio-based
materials, chemicals and fuels, including through creating new cross-sector
interconnections and supporting cross-industry clusters; and
set up flagship biorefinery plants that deploy the technologies and business
models for bio-based materials, chemicals and fuels and demonstrate cost and
performance improvements to levels that are competitive with fossil-based
alternatives.
As announced in the updated Bioeconomy Strategy9 presented by the European
Commission in October 2018, BBI JU is considered as one of its key achievements: ‘the EU
public-private partnership on Bio-Based Industries has been instrumental in the development
8 As amended by Council Regulation (EU) 2018/121 of 23 January 2018 amending Regulation.
9 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/news/new-bioeconomy-strategy-sustainable-europe-2018-oct-11-0_en
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and deployment of new bio-based value chains, based on the use of renewable resources
including waste’. This confirms some conclusions of the BBI JU interim evaluation: ‘BBI JU
has created a stimulating research and innovation environment in Europe. BBI JU has also
attracted a satisfactory level of participation of the best European players in the areas of the
selected value chains. The development of business models to integrate economic actors along
the whole value chains is an achievement: … As the realization of these goals could not be
achieved by a single member country, organization or scientific discipline alone, the required
common European effort is justified.’
The two main positive effects of BBI JU remain the structuring effect in organising the
value chains across sectors and the innovation-driven mobilising effect of key
stakeholders across sectors and across geographical areas as mentioned in the interim
evaluation report of BBI JU. The significant added value of BBI JU is mostly in accelerating
the integration of different sectors and industries towards the creation of new value
chains, with different partners joining forces on a common project. In addition to these
key aspects, other important achievements also highlighted in the report are the
effectiveness of implementation, the KPIs specific to BBI JU which are all well on track, the
significant private sector participation, with an important mobilisation of private
investment demonstrating a high leverage effect, and the strong SME participation.
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ABOUT THE BIO-BASED INDUSTRY SECTOR IN THE EU
The bio-based industry is an emerging sector organised between inter-connected value
chains, which aims at transforming renewable biological feedstock such as dedicated
crops, agricultural and forest residues, biowaste and aquatic biomass, into bio-based
products, materials and energy, replacing their fossil-based versions. According to
Eurostat figures, in 2015 the bio-based industry sector accounted for 3.6 million jobs in
EU28 and achieved a total turnover of around EUR 700 billion10.
The bio-based industry is considered an emerging sector due to the fact that it is
extremely fragmented in both the geographical and business organisation contexts.
Industry therefore perceives risks in investing in it. It is also facing certain specific
challenges and risks in terms of feedstock supply, notably the lack of an efficient logistical
infrastructure to transport the feedstock from its place of generation to the biorefinery
location. The biorefineries require a substantial level of investment that is not without
risk: high costs for innovation, registration and infrastructure, often young companies,
investments needed to develop applications and enter the market including
communication to the society, fluctuating feedstock price, competition with well-
established conventional production processes. In addition, the sector is faced with
various regulatory hurdles impacting several levels of the value chains.
In 2012, as part of the impact assessment of the initiative, the EC conducted a public
consultation. From the 638 responses received, 94.3% of them recommended an EU
initiative and a large majority considered a PPP (public-private partnership) to be the most
appropriate mechanism. The impact assessment concluded that a Joint Undertaking
between public and private sectors was necessary to:
de-risk investment at all levels, from research to full scale deployment;
organise the sectors by building bridges and collaboration between actors that
had never collaborated in the past;
reach a critical mass at European level, where a single country or small group of
organisations is not sufficiently large to address such a strategic challenge.
The main expected impacts of BBI JU are thus to contribute to the structuring and
mobilising effect of the bio-based industry sector and to trigger, attract and maintain
investment in Europe to create competitiveness and jobs, particularly in coastal and rural
areas.
10 https://biconsortium.eu/sites/biconsortium.eu/files/documents/European_Bioeconomy_in_Figures_2008-
2015_06042018.pdf
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2019 was a crucial year for the BBI JU Programme Office, marking the transition from
expected to actual projects’ outcomes, displaying the impact of the BBI Initiative on the
European bioeconomy.
The total number of grants reached its peak at 101 – generating a considerable workload
in terms of project reporting - and the Programme Office demonstrated that it possesses
a solid and adaptable framework which not only enhances the efficiency and effectiveness
of operations, but increasingly encompasses content-related tasks (such as the analysis
of the projects outputs and outcomes). The growing project portfolio confirms the positive
trends in terms of actions financed, geographical distribution and strategic orientations
covered. Call 2019 registered a record number of proposals with a 30% increase as
compared with 2018, confirming the growing interest in BBI calls and the mobilisation of
the bio-based sector.
The finalised projects - numbering 12 by the end of 2019 – are reporting actual results for
the first time and they confirm the trend detected so far: that the project outcomes are
actually outperforming all the KPIs, interactions within the sector are revealing better than
expected dynamics and for the end of the programme expectations are even higher.
BBI JU projects continue to contribute significantly in terms of socio-economic and
environmental impact, maintaining a strong drive for innovative SMEs. Studies and
analyses have been organised by the Programme Office in order to underline the key
points of the initiative (impact, SME participation) and addressing areas identified for
improvement (agricultural sector participation) with a very concrete action plan for the
current initiative and its possible continuity.
These results have been fundamental to showcasing – through targeted campaigns and
the 2nd Stakeholder event – the project outcomes, creating further networking
opportunities and setting the scene for the discussions about the future of the
partnership under the Horizon Europe programme.
The BBI JU Initiative proved to be an essential element of the bioeconomy strategy,
structuring and mobilising the bio-based sector by stimulating projects and investments
expected to generate a leverage effect of over EUR 2,111 per each euro of public funds.
11 This figure includes the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to
proceed with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members. Further details of the current calculation are exposed in section 1.3.5. Monitoring the leverage effect of the initiative
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EFFICIENCY OF OPERATIONS
The consolidated business processes and well-established procedures allowed the BBI JU
Programme Office to operate successfully despite the growing workload, making good
use of the available resources and enjoying synergies with other joint undertakings and
with the Commission services.
The BBI JU project portfolio is growing and now comprises 101 granted projects with a
total funding of almost EUR 600 million, involving 1 193 beneficiaries from 26 Member
States and eight associated countries. With the signature of the 23 grants awarded
following the Call 2019 call, these figures will reach a peak of 124 funded projects with
1466 total beneficiaries from 37 countries, and a total grant amount of EUR 717 million.
BBI JU’s Call 2019 – amounting to EUR 135 million - again triggered a significant response
compared to previous calls, with 184 proposals submitted, pushing the total number of
proposals since the first call to 700, involving more than 7 991 applicants from 45
countries. The 27% increase in proposals received compared to Call 2018 is confirming
the growing interest of the community of applicants in BBI JU’s programme. Around 52%
of proposals obtained scores above threshold, highlighting the competitiveness of the
call, with an overall success rate of 13%, a slight decrease compared to Call 2018.
Risk Management has remained an integral part of the management processes, adding
value to the organisation by efficiently and effectively supporting the achievement of
objectives. The 2018 risk assessment performed on the 2019 objectives identified five
main risks, together with measures to mitigate their impact on the organisation. For
example, the risk of scarcity of staff resources was well anticipated and timely actions
were put in place in order to ensure business continuity and to maintain high-level
performance despite the departure of three staff members.
Internal control standards were once again assessed as effective and compliant, ensuring
a smooth transition towards the new Internal Control Framework in force as from 1
January 2020.
In this context, the Programme Office managed to continue carrying out its duties
efficiently and effectively as shown by the main Horizon 2020 KPIs:
time to inform was 104 days against a target of 153 (100% on time);
time to grant was 235 days on average against a target of 245 days (95% on
time);
time to pay was 9.9 days on average for pre-financing against a target of 30
days (100% on time);
time to pay was 73.8 days on average for periodic payments against a target
of 90 days (98% on time);
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The BBI JU detected error rate is 0.6% while the residual error rate is 0.47%, these
data remaining well below the 5% to 2% range applicable to the current stage
of implementation of the initiative per the expectations provided by the
legislative framework applicable to BBI JU.
AN EFFECTIVE AND BALANCED PROJECT PORTFOLIO
The overall landscape of participation and funding in 2019 further confirms the
effectiveness of the BBI JU project portfolio highlighted by the interim evaluation of BBI
JU. The BBI JU’s objectives to de-risk investment, to organise value chains and to reach a
critical mass remain highly relevant to maintaining the EU as a competitive and attractive
market at the forefront of global bioeconomy development.
BBI JU continues to contribute to the structuring and mobilising effect of all key actors
across EU industrial sectors and across disciplines in the scientific community. In fact, the
balance in the funding distributed among different actors involved in BBI JU
projects is remarkable: 30% of funding goes to research organisations and higher
education establishments, 31% goes to large industries and 35% goes to small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Large industry remains a key actor in the BBI JU Initiative ensuring long-term vision,
investment and the creation of opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to
scale up technologies. The analysis of SME participation carried out by the
Programme Office shows that they enable the generation of new products and
processes by providing new knowledge, supplying customised technologies and services
for testing, data analysis and validation. With a relatively high participation rate in BBI JU
projects (39%) compared to other initiatives under Horizon 2020, this picture confirms
that they play a dynamic role in the bio-based economy and that the BBI JU initiative
represents a valuable instrument for SME-driven innovation.
Beneficiaries from the scientific community are also very important for BBI JU as they
provide expertise and ‘out of the box’ thinking, driving the translation of science into
innovation (the so-called ‘innovation potential’). The annual survey of running projects
demonstrates that 80% of them contribute to increasing the university/company
collaboration. This also confirms that the BBI JU Initiative provides numerous possibilities
for them to build relationships with industry and to participate in high-TRL projects,
scaling up technologies and valorising their intellectual property.
The coverage of different feedstock is improving. Agri-based (side-streams included),
forest-based, biowaste and aquatic biomass have been covered by RIA and DEMO
projects, with a growing mobilisation of technologies used for processing municipal
waste. While most RIA projects are still mainly clustered around agri-based and forest-
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based biomass, the use of aquatic feedstock is progressing at a slower pace in RIAs and
DEMOs, with to date no Flagship covering this type of biomass.
The geographical distribution of beneficiaries in BBI JU calls remains well balanced with
a good spread between EU15, EU13 and associated countries. For example, mirroring the
geographical variety of the feedstock used, five Flagship projects are located in EU 15
(Ireland, Belgium, France and Italy), three in EU13 (Estonia, Slovakia and Romania) and
one in Norway, an associated country. Similarly, 28 DEMO projects are evenly located
across Europe, with a strong involvement of Eastern and Southern European countries
and associated countries. The six new demonstration projects are expected to consolidate
this positive trend.
The participation of EU13 countries has remained steady over the last three calls,
confirming the successful widening participation strategy implemented by the BBI JU
Programme Office in terms of awareness raising, supporting partnerships and mobilising
regional stakeholders. In addition, by normalising the analysis using gross domestic
expenditure in research and development or funding per capita, EU13 countries are
shown to perform well in the BBI JU programme. Although EU13 countries receive a lower
share of the BBI JU contribution compared to EU15, the former group performs better
overall in BBI JU calls (10%) than in other programmes such as Societal Challenge 2 (8.05%)
or the LEIT KET Biotechnology programme (4.0%)
PROJECT OUTCOMES MOVING FROM EXPECTED TO ACTUAL RESULTS
The 2020 objectives relating to the projects’ outcomes are defined in the SIRA 2017 and
are monitored by the Programme Office on an annual basis. With a larger share of
projects concluded in 2019, participants have been able to report – in addition to expected
results – the actual outcomes obtained. These results confirm that BBI projects are well
on their way to exceeding the targets set for the Initiative, reinforcing the JU’s significant
contribution to the systemic evolution of the sector in bridging the gap between
innovation and market.
KPIs 1, 2 and 3 confirm the mobilisation of the sector and the structuring effect on
the bio-based sector in Europe.
According to KPI 1, finished projects have already generated 25 new cross-
sector interconnections out of the target of 36 in the SIRA 2017. They are
expected to generate an additional 187 new cross-sector interconnections
by 2020, largely exceeding the initial target;
According to KPI 2, finished projects already defined 17 new bio-based
value chains, largely surpassing the target of 10 in the SIRA 2017. On top of
this, 163 additional new bio-based value chains are expected by 2024;
19
According to KPI 3, 101 Grant Agreements (soon to be 124) are already
signed out of 200 expected by the end of the initiative.
Although we will only have the final numbers after the finalisation of the projects, most of
the results – both actually reported and expected - go substantially beyond the initial
expectations, demonstrating a systemic change in the bio-based sector that is manifested
by a much higher number of bio-based value chains and sector interconnections. This
also demonstrates a level of complexity and number of interconnections among the different
value chains that were not initially expected.
These figures also confirm the structuring effect involved in organising the value chains
across sectors and the innovation-driven mobilisation of all key stakeholders across
sectors and geographical regions. The significant benefit brought by BBI JU in this context
is the acceleration of uniting different sectors and industries in the creation of new value
chains.
KPIs 4, 5, 6 and 7 underline the market uptake potential showing that new bio-based
building blocks, materials and consumer products are accessing markets and, in most
cases, have properties superior to those of fossil-based equivalents. This indicates that
the trend of the portfolio is directed towards improving product performance and
enlarging the portfolio of ‘green label’ materials and chemicals. Thanks to their versatility
and the possibility to produce them from various types of feedstock and with different
technologies, they are demonstrating important elements of novelty such as inferior CO2
and/or other GHG emissions, optimal energy consumption, inferior production costs,
enhanced levels of biodegradability, recyclability, improved health and safety aspects.
Regarding KPI 4, projects reported the creation of nine new bio-based
building blocks by 2020, largely surpassing the target of five given in the
SIRA 2017. On top of this, 77 additional new bio-based building blocks are
expected by 2024;
Regarding KPI 5, projects reported the creation of 15 new bio-based
materials by 2020 against the 2020 target of 50 in the SIRA 2017. An
additional 168 new bio-based materials are expected to be created by 2024.
Regarding KPI 6, projects reported the creation of 12 new bio-based
consumer products by 2020 against the 2020 target of 30 in the SIRA 2017.
An additional 95 new bio-based consumer products are expected to be
created by 2024.
KPI 7 shows that BBI JU has granted nine Flagship projects, which is almost
the double the 2020 target of at least 5 Flagships in the SIRA 2017.
20
In addition to the KPIs defined by the SIRA, the Programme Office continues to monitor
the leverage effect of the initiative, which is currently expected at 2.1 EUR12 marking an
increase compared to last year. The overall contributions from the JU’s member other
than the Union are slightly below the level expected at this point of the initiative, mainly
because of the lack of financial contributions, while the number of certificates of in-kind
additional activities submitted by the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) members
remains high.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
BBI projects also show interesting figures in terms of employment: 82% of projects
contribute to job creation. In particular, the nine Flagship projects will generate more than
3,300 direct and more than 10,000 indirect jobs, evenly shared between EU15, EU13 and
associated countries and most of them in rural areas. Those nine Flagships received EUR
195 million of grants leveraging more than EUR 1.2 billion of private investments.
BBI projects have reported some positive effects regarding the participation of the
primary producers and the impact of the initiative on rural development, especially in
projects using agri-based feedstock. In 2019, the Programme Office launched a study to
gain a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by primary
producers when participating in the bio-based sector and its value chains. A set of
innovative business models were also analysed and provided a list of successful examples
for fostering the meaningful participation of agricultural producers. The study also
delivered a set of 28 recommendations and a concrete action plan to enhance and further
consolidate the participation of the agricultural sector within the current BBI Initiative and
its possible successor under Horizon Europe.
At the regional level, nearly half of the projects (45%) report the reutilisation of local
residues and synergies with regional initiatives. Around 40% of the respondents state that
they are supporting regional development and diversifying the local economy as well as
involving local associations and stakeholders. Moreover, more than one quarter of the
projects reports having established a collaboration with the local administration, and 15%
to contributing to reindustrialisation or reconversion in their regions, and to the
valorisation of unexploited marginal land.
The expected environmental impact is also considerable as 84% expect to contribute
to lower GHG emissions compared to fossil-based counterparts; 75% of the projects
report a contribution to waste reduction, reuse, recycling or valorisation; and nearly half
of the projects report a reduced energy consumption and improved land use. In addition,
12 This figure includes the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to
proceed with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members. Further details of the current calculation are exposed in section 1.3.5. Monitoring the leverage effect of the initiative
21
35% of the projects are reporting improved water efficiency and more sustainable use of
natural resources. Considering only the seven Flagships funded so far, the total CO2 saving
is expected to reach 600 kT CO2/year.
The contribution of BBI JU projects to SDGs is confirmed by a first analysis carried out
by the Programme Office. A strong involvement of BBI JU projects in improving the use of
the bioresources is evident, aimed at valorising them not only for their energy content,
but also to unlock their full potential as residues, industrial side streams and biowaste.
The projects contribute to several of the SDGs by replacing fossil-based products, feeding
the world under challenging climatic conditions and creating new jobs in rural areas while
preserving the biodiversity. BBI JU’s projects also address SDGs related to the promotion
of a sustainable industrialisation and this is implemented by building resilient
infrastructures to ensure access to renewable energy for everyone in an efficient way and
to contribute to sustainable economic growth through the creation of new jobs, whilst
always considering the impact that these actions might have on the environment. Due to
their scope, Flagship actions contribute to promoting sustainable agriculture and energy
consumption, combating desertification, land degradation and the loss of biodiversity in
the area where the biorefinery is located.
COMMUNICATING THE IMPACT AND THE ADDED VALUE OF THE BBI JU
AND ITS PROJECT PORTFOLIO
The impact on the added value of the BBI JU Initiative and its project portfolio has been at
the core of the communication activities carried out in 2019. In particular, the Programme
Office organised the 2nd BBI JU Stakeholders Forum on 3 and 4 December 2019,
welcoming nearly 600 participants, 30 speakers and expert panellists to discuss the
strategic importance of the bio-based economy in Europe and BBI JU's key role in
implementing it. In addition to this, projects’ representatives were invited to exchange
ideas, finding potential areas of common interest and synergies, as well as networking.
The Stakeholders Forum was anticipated by a campaign about the impact of BBI projects
that generated more than 570 000 views, 2 400 likes, 1 200 retweets and 28 600 video
views on Twitter. The campaign also included articles in the specialised press, discussing
the projects’ impact, models of the circular bioeconomy, the blue bioeconomy and SME
participation.
BBI JU continued to promote the annual call for proposals at its annual info day in
Brussels, during 14 events in the Member States and associated countries and by
participating - in coordination with the Commission and BIC - in a wide range of events.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISCUSSIONS OF HORIZON EUROPE
22
During 2019, the Programme Office contributed to the discussion about the future
partnership under the next research and innovation framework programme Horizon
Europe. On the one hand, the Programme Office supported the members of the JU in
setting the scene for discussions around the future partnership, particularly - but not
exclusively - during Governing Board meetings. In this context, the work of the States
Representatives Group and the Scientific Committee has been fundamental in bringing
the experience and contribution of its members to the Horizon Europe preparation
process.
On the other hand, the Programme Office maintained a strong collaboration with the
Commission’s services and the other Joint Undertakings, leading common actions to
collect lessons learnt from the implementation of Horizon 2020 and prepare
contributions about the future framework for the rules underlying the functioning of
institutional partnerships under Horizon Europe.
Finally, the Programme Office was a key contributor in providing information about the
projects’ results and the initiative’s outcomes in the context of the impact assessment of
the BBI JU Initiative.
CONCLUSION
In 2019, the Programme Office managed the project portfolio in a truly remarkable fashion,
delivering high-quality results highlighting the efficiency of the organisation and
displaying the impact of the BBI Joint Undertaking. The European Bio-based sector is
showing a growing interest in BBI calls, revealing its structuring effect across strategic
priorities and its mobilisation in different geographical areas as well as ensuring the
balanced participation of industry, academia and small and medium enterprises, creating
a fertile environment for the future of the initiative.
23
1. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ANNUAL WORK PLAN 2019
24
1.1. 2019 KEY OBJECTIVES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS
1.1.1. Overall operational objectives from AWP 2019
Call 201913 focused on the need to better integrate biomass feedstock suppliers at the
front end of the chain and to create a demand for biomass feedstock from biorefining
processes. Similarly, Call 2019 aimed at stimulating partnerships involving end-market
actors to create a ‘market pull’ for bio-based products for identified applications.
In this way the 2019 call continued the trend initiated in 2016, moving from a strict
biomass feedstock ‘push’ based on traditional value chains towards a demand for
biomass, to enable processes to adequately respond to a ‘pull’ from the end markets.
Call 2019 continued to develop the four Strategic Orientations (SOs) linked in a matrix,
with three ‘vertical’ orientations and the ‘horizontal’ one cutting across them.
The SOs for 2019 were:
1. Fostering a sustainable biomass feedstock supply to feed both existing and new
value chains, by expanding and diversifying the biomass feedstock portfolio
through the improvement and utilisation of existing sources as well as tapping into
new sources;
2. Optimising efficient processing for integrated biorefineries by developing new
breakthrough processes, and by improving the efficiency and sustainability of
biorefining biomass into compounds for chemicals (including food and feed
ingredients) and materials;
3. Developing innovative bio-based products for specific market applications by
increasing the applicability of high value-added bio-based products, and avoiding
price competition with fossil-based products by pursuing advanced functionalities
and unmatched performance;
4. Creating and accelerating the market uptake of bio-based products and
applications by responding to the concerns of society about bio-based products,
engaging in dialogue with societal and consumer groups about benefits and how
potential risks are addressed and managed.
The implementation and achievement of the SOs developed in the AWP 2019 are outlined
in sections 1.2 and 1.3 of the current report.
13 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/sites/default/files/bbi-ju-awp-2019.pdf
25
1.1.2. Management objectives and achievements 2019
The 2019 priorities and objectives were presented by the Executive Director to the BBI JU
Governing Board in 2018. The priorities were mainly concerned with the consolidation of
the project portfolio, keeping the highest standards of quality and efficiency while
absorbing a growing workload. Another important priority for 2019 was to highlight the
impact of the initiative to a wider group of stakeholders as well as to contribute to the
discussions of Horizon Europe, communicating the lessons learnt from the operational
implementation experience garnered under Horizon 2020.
The 2019 objectives were organised around four priorities, the main results achieved for
each of them are briefly described below:
1. Maintain the quality of the BBI JU operational standards at the highest level
and ensure optimal efficiency to absorb the increase in the workload.
The Programme Office consolidated and fine-tuned the reporting landscape on the
financial contribution and the leverage effect as originally approved by the BBI JU GB in
2018. In order to absorb the workload peak the Programme Office looked at all options
including an adjustment of the Staff Establishment Plan (SEP). A suitable option implying
no increase of the administrative budget was identified but not approved. Consequently,
a solution of employing interim staff was retained.
Throughout the year the JU optimised the ex-post control process based on an analysis
of the first ex-post audits and of the specificities of BBI JU beneficiaries. The
implementation of the new Internal Control Framework was prepared by end 2019,
building on achieved compliance and effectiveness while fostering efficiency.
2. Analyse and communicate the impact and the added value of the BBI JU iPPP
and its project portfolio to a wide audience of stakeholders.
In 2019 more detailed analyses and studies of the socio-economic and environmental
impact of BBI JU projects were undertaken to demonstrate the added value and
additionality of the initiative. The objective was also to communicate about the results
and achievements of BBI JU’s completed projects, with a specific focus on the scientific
advancements and market uptake potential.
Based on those analyses and studies, specific tools, reports and campaigns (including
events) were developed to communicate the added value of the BBI Initiative and its
impact on the daily lives of EU citizens. On December 3rd and 4th BBI organised the second
BBI JU Stakeholder Forum keeping the successful format of 2017, with a specific focus on
output, impact and benefits for the EU citizens. All those initiatives also contributed to
26
consolidating the relationship built with priority stakeholders (institutional, governmental
and NGOs) to reinforce and support their role as ambassadors.
3. Implement the adjustments to the project portfolio following the
recommendations of the BBI JU interim evaluations, while maintaining all of
its recognised key strengths.
In 2019, BBI JU continued to consolidate its effective project management and reporting,
including the assessment and payments of final project reports. The agreed methodology
for the monitoring, validation and communication format of the project outcome KPIs was
also further developed and it was agreed to perform this via a specific study to be carried
out in 2020.
The specific study on the BBI JU added value for and from SMEs in the bio-based industries
was finalised in 2019 and a report was published. The outcome of this study was widely
diffused, and several useful aspects were taken into account to contribute to the
discussion on the potential partnership under Horizon Europe, Circular Bio-based Europe
(CBE). Another study on the participation of the agriculture sector in BBI JU was also
performed in 2019. The report and action plan for the short, medium and long-term were
published in December 2019.
4. Contribute to the discussions of Horizon Europe in terms of both Missions
and Objectives and the operational functioning of the BBI JU as
implementing body, by building on the lessons learnt from the
implementation of Horizon 2020.
The BBI JU Programme Office together with its two advisory bodies
contributed to the discussion of Horizon Europe via several initiatives:
Proposal of a set of solutions to better integrate the BBI JU industries into
the entire bioeconomy value chains, addressing the issues of biodiversity,
competition with food and feed, and water and soil management practices;
the analysis of the BBI JU project portfolio as well as the specific study on
the agriculture sector participation enabled proposals to be prepared on
how better to address the mobilisation of the primary sectors, scarcely
covered geographic areas and insufficiently mobilised feedstocks;
The identification and proposal of a set of opportunities in terms of
operational practice and implementing rules to improve the
implementation of HE vis-à-vis H2020;
The preparation of a draft plan to cover the transition between H2020 and
Horizon Europe, taking into consideration the possible scenarios regarding
27
the type of instrument to be selected for the implementation of a
partnership on the “Circular Bio-based Europe”.
1.1.3. Associated risks
In line with the BBI JU procedures for identifying risks and their preventive measures, the
2018 risk assessment performed on the 2019 objectives identified five risks. These risks
were described in the Risk Register of the organisation together with individual
responsibilities, the relevant risk responses and the deadlines for implementation by the
Programme Office. The management monitored and reported possible threats as
necessary during the year.
As a result, the Programme Office implemented the mitigating actions effectively: all the
risk responses planned for 2019 were adequately implemented in a timely fashion and/or
were updated. These results improved the control over the identified threats and the
relevant information was used to re-assess the future risk exposure of the organisation
as detailed in section 4.6 below.
Indeed, one of the most significant challenges identified in the past eventually started
being realised in 2019: an increased staff turnover rate and changes in working patterns
for some key staff members had to be promptly addressed in a context of a progressively
increasing workload. In previous years, the Management Team had already adopted
preventive and mitigating measures that proved to be effective in managing this situation
while maintaining the high-quality standards of BBI JU’s operations.
28
1.2. RESEARCH & INNOVATION ACTIVITIES
The mission of the BBI JU is to implement, under Horizon 2020 rules, the Strategic
Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) driven by BIC. This involves organising calls for
proposals to support research, demonstration and deployment activities, enabling the
collaboration between stakeholders along the entire value chains and covering primary
production of biomass, processing industry and final use.
The section below provides an overview of the status of BBI JU’s achievements with
respect to the implementation of its AWPs and the management of its project portfolio,
in addition to its contributions to the SIRA 2017 (see section 1.2.1). More specifically,
sections 1.2.2 and 1.2.3 provide a description of the various types of actions and an
overview of the BBI JU calls and the current projects portfolio. Finally, section 1.2.4
outlines the BBI JU project monitoring activities carried out in 2019.
1.2.1. Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA)
The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 2017 (SIRA) presents the overall strategic
orientation of BBI JU, developed by BIC and based on extensive consultation with the
European Commission and other public and private stakeholders. The SIRA 2017 results
from the revision of the SIRA 2013.
The SIRA 2017 presents a broadened scope that reflects the changes occurring in the
rapidly evolving bio-based industries, such as the inclusion of new sectors and the
incorporation of new sources of feedstock, e.g. aquatic biomass, biowaste, CO2 and other
exhaust gases. In addition, the SIRA 2017 pursues the crossover between ‘traditional’
value chains, moving to a multi-value chain approach that increases the opportunities to
transform and valorise new feedstock into numerous new bio-based products for a wide
range of applications.
The SIRA defines four Strategic Orientations (SOs) of the bio-based industry in Europe
(Figure 1):
SO1: foster supply of sustainable biomass feedstock to feed both existing
and new value chains; SO1 refers to the four main sources of biomass
feedstock for bio-based industries in Europe: agri-based feedstock,
comprising agriculture, agro-food sector and mainly their residuals and
side-streams; forest-based feedstock, including forestry, forest-based
sector and their residuals and side-streams; aquatic feedstock, including
aquatic organisms, fisheries and aquaculture sectors and their residues;
29
biowaste and CO2, including municipal solid waste, sludge from wastewater
and CO2 effluents
SO2: optimise efficient processing for integrated biorefineries through
research, development and innovation (R&D&I) (SO2); SO2 focuses on the
technological developments for the optimisation of all industrial processes
involved in integrated bio-refineries, covering the pre-treatment of
biomass, the conversion of the pre-treated feedstock to bio-based
chemicals and materials, the downstream processes and the system
modelling.
SO3: develop innovative bio-based products for identified market
applications (SO3); SO3 aims at creating a wide range of bio-based
products, including ‘drop-in’ solutions, bio-based products that outperform
their fossil-based counterparts, new breakthrough chemicals and proteins
and active ingredients for feed/food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics,
among others.
SO4: create and accelerate the market uptake of bio-based products and
applications (SO4); SO4 aims at facilitating the market uptake of the new
bio-based products by addressing different non-technological hurdles,
such as standardisation, policy and regulations; increasing consumer
awareness on the societal benefits of the bio-based products, and fostering
strategic aspects such as knowledge-gathering and networking.
30
Figure 1: SIRA strategic orientations
1.2.2. BBI JU types of actions and scale of project impact (Technology Readiness Level)
BBI JU implements its research and innovation programme via four types of actions as
defined in the Annual Work Programmes:
Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs);
Innovation Actions (IAs), namely Demonstration Actions (DEMOs) and
Flagship Actions (Flagships);
Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs).
Apart from CSAs, all actions correspond to a different Technology Readiness Level (TRL)
(Figure 2). The TRL scale is a tool for decision-making on research, development and
innovation investments at EU level.14 It enables the assessment of the maturity of a
particular technology and the consistent comparison of maturity between different types
of technologies.
14 See also https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/annexes/h2020-wp1415-
annex-g-trl_en.pdf.
Develop innovative bio-based
products for identified market
applications
• Drop-in bio-based
products
• Bio-based products that
outperform fossil-based
counterparts
• New breakthrough
• Chemicals
• Proteins and active
ingredients
Optimise efficient processing
for integrated biorefineries
through R&D&I
• Pre-treatment
• Conversion of pre-treated
feedstock to biobased
chemicals and materials
• Downstream processing
• System modelling
Foster Supply of sustainable
biomass feedstock to feed both
existing and new value chains
• Agri-based feedstock
• Forest-based feedstock
• Aquatic feedstock
• Bio-waste and CO2
SO 1 SO 3 SO 2
Create and accelerate the market uptake of bio-based products and applications
• Policy & regulations, standardization
• Consumer awareness of the benefits of bio-based products
Knowledge gathering and networking
SO 4
31
Figure 2: Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) according to the SIRA and connection to BBI JU types of actions
RIAs cover various activities to develop (TRL 3) or validate (TRL 4-5) technologies to fill gaps
in value chains and enable new bio-based chemical building blocks, new bio-based
materials, and new bio-based ‘consumer products’ or applications.
The DEMOs conduct activities to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a
new or improved technology (or a combination of linked technologies), process, or
product in a relevant environment (TRL 6) or a system prototype in an operational
environment (TRL 7). DEMOs at higher TRL perform a full value chain demonstration at
pilot scale demonstrating also an optimised feedstock pre-treatment and downstream
processing combination.
Flagships deal with the deployment of the demonstrated technologies and the delivery -
by the end of the project – of a system that is complete and qualified (TRL 8) for successful
commercial operation (‘first of a kind’ large-scale production facility in Europe). Flagship
projects aim at improved environmental and economical processes for the industry when
competing with fossil-based technologies (e.g. reduction in CO2 footprint) and have a
positive socio-economic impact. The flagships’ main aim is to deliver specific product(s)
possibly with new functionalities at a full-scale application, and subsequently to introduce
those products on the market.
32
1.2.3. Overview of BBI JU Calls and Project Portfolio
CALL AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW
BBI JU has thus far implemented six calls15 out of the seven foreseen until the end of 2020,
concluding grants for EUR 599 419 910 that represent about 99% of the cumulative
indicative funding, and 75% of its overall budget foreseen for all calls until 2020 (taking
into account the budget reduction of Call 2020).
The following table shows an overview of all calls implemented to date.
Call 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Total at
31/12/2019
Proposals 38 82 103 149 144 516
Applicants 364 901 1190 1734 1633 5822
Grant
agreements 10 26 29 17 19 101
Beneficiaries
(non-unique) 104 317 341 197 234 1193
Beneficiaries
(unique) 95 273 285 178 206 794
Grant
amount
(EUR)
49,653,708 178,849,527 182,873,089 85,161,992 102,881,595 599,419,909
Table 1: Overview of the implemented BBI JU calls for proposals by 31/12/2019
The main activities that occurred during 2019 include the following:
Finalisation of the Grant Agreement preparation (GAP) process of Call 2018
projects, resulting in the signature of 19 Grant Agreements for new
projects;
Implementation of Call 2019 starting with the publication of the call in April,
remote evaluation from September to October, central evaluation during
the months of October and November;
Communication of the evaluation results of Call 2019 to the applicants and
launch of the respective GAP in December 2019 upon approval of the
ranking list by the BBI JU Governing Board;
15 The two Calls of 2015 – Call 2015.1 for Flagships and Call 2015.2 for RIAs, DEMOs and CSAs – are counted
as one single call here. Call 2018 implementation is currently in the phase of GAP.
33
Adoption of the AWP 2020 followed by its publication on the BBI JU website;
Analysis of periodic reporting and review of projects.
Regarding the distribution of the operational budget, Figure 3 shows the distribution of
BBI JU’s funding allocated to the different types of actions for the projects from Calls 2014
to 2019 compared to the distribution announced in the SIRA for the initiative as a whole.
This data demonstrates that while the budget allocation for RIAs and Flagships is in line
with the targets, adjustments are still required for DEMO and CSA actions. In particular,
the budget allocation for DEMO actions is still higher than the target. This deviation has
been tackled at the programming level through the 2019 AWP and will be further
addressed in the 2020 AWP. For CSAs, the overall funding is still below the indicative
target; however, the increase in funding introduced in AWP 2019 has been maintained in
AWP 2020, and an improvement in the distribution of the operational budget may be
expected via Call 2020.
Figure 3: BBI JU overall operational budget: allocation of funding between types of actions. Cumulative figures for the period 2014-2019 as compared to the indicative values at the end of 2020 (SIRA 2017). Data for 2019 refers to proposals currently in GAP.
The share of funding allocated across the various types of action in BBI JU is rather
comparable over the six calls implemented to date (Figure 4), with the majority of funding
going to IAs (DEMOs and Flagships).
CSA2.0%
RIA31.5%
DEMO34.9%
FLAG31.7%
BBI JU OPERATIONAL BUDGET 2014 -2019
CSA3.5%
RIA30.5%
DEMO30.5%
FLAG35.5%
BBI JU OPERATIONAL BUDGET INDICATIVE OBJECTIVES 2020
34
Further details on the performance of BBI JU against Horizon 2020 and specific KPIs are
provided in section 1.3.1. Details on the implementation of Call 2019 are provided in
section 1.3.2.
Figure 4: BBI JU overall operational budget expenditure in Calls 2014 - 2019 (the data for the Call 2019
refers to retained proposals)
OVERVIEW OF BBI JU’S PROJECT PORTFOLIO
At the end of 2019, the BBI JU project portfolio consisted of 101 granted projects16 (52
RIAs, 29 DEMOs, 9 Flagships and 11 CSAs, resulting from the calls of years 2014, 2015,
2016, 2017 and 2018). After the finalisation of the GAP process from Call 2019, 12 RIAs, 6
DEMOs, 2 Flagships and 3 CSA projects are expected to be added to the BBI JU’s project
portfolio. Table 2 summarises the number of projects by call and action for each year and
the plan for Call 2020.
Call 2014 10 projects: 7 RIAs, 2 DEMOs, 1 Flagship
(first periodic reports were submitted in March 2017)
16 One DEMO project from Call 2014 has been terminated.
€2.96 (2%) €2.89 (2%) €1.95 (2%) €1.95 (2%) €4.45 (4%)
€12.94
(26%)
€39.48
(22%)
€53.96
(30%) €37.95
(45%)€31.42
(31%)
€49.99
(42%)€19.72
(40%)
€62.67
(35%)
€79.01
(43%)
€24.30
(29%)€32.95
(32%)
€31.82
(27%)
€17.00
(34%)
€73.74
(41%)
€47.01
(26%)
€20.96
(25%)
€36.57
(36%)
€31.92
(27%)
€0
€20
€40
€60
€80
€100
€120
€140
€160
€180
€200
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Millio
ns
CSA RIA IA DEMO IA FLAG
35
Call 2015 26 projects: 11 RIAs, 9 DEMOs, 3 Flagships, 3 CSAs
(first periodic reports were submitted in November 2017)
Call 2016 29 projects: 15 RIAs, 9 DEMOs, 2 Flagships, 3 CSAs
(first periodic reports were submitted in May 2018)
Call 2017 17 projects: 10 RIAs, 4 DEMOs, 1 Flagship, 2 CSAs
Call 2018 19 projects: 9 RIAs, 5 DEMOs, 2 Flagships, 3 CSAs
Call 2019 23 projects in GAP: 12 RIAs, 6 DEMOs, 2 Flagships, 3 CSAs
Call 2020
(ongoing) Projects not yet funded
Table 2: BBI JU summary of calls: achievements by the end of 2019
CLASSIFICATION OF BBI JU PROJECTS ACCORDING TO THE MAIN
SOURCE OF FEEDSTOCK
The SIRA 2017, in the frame of the SO 1 “Foster supply of sustainable biomass feedstock
to feed both existing and new value chains”, introduces and defines four different types
of feedstock:
Agri-based feedstock, including residues and by-products from the agro-
food industry;
Forest-based feedstock, including side-streams and residues;
Aquatic feedstock, including aquatic organisms, fisheries and aquaculture
sectors and their residues;
Biowaste including MSW and wastewater, and CO2.
Table 3 presents the projects’ distribution according to the main sources of feedstock for
the three types of action, RIA, DEMO and Flagship. All the projects from the six BBI JU calls
(2014-2018) are represented by a square with different colours.
36
Table 3 BBI JU RIA and IA projects from: Call -2014 (red) -15 (brown) -16 (blue) -17 (green) -18 (yellow) and the proposals in GAP in Call 2019 (purple). The distributions reflect the portfolio of projects by the end of 2019
As shown in the table, “other feedstock” is an additional category for BBI JU projects that
use a biomass which is not identified in the SIRA 2017. For example, this category includes
the projects resulting from BBI JU’s Call 2019 for the topic “BBI2019.SO2.R3 – Apply
microorganisms and/or enzymes to resolve end-of-life issues of plastics”, where circularity
concepts are applied in the treatment of plastic waste.
The table 3 shows that all SO1 feedstock sources have been covered by RIA and DEMO
projects. Overall, the agri-based sector represents the main source of feedstock, followed
by the forest-based, for all actions (RIAs and IAs). The last call, 2019, consolidates these
trends with five new DEMOs, one RIA and one Flagship using agri-based feedstock and
five new RIAs and one Flagship using forest-based feedstock.
There is a steady increase in RIA and DEMO projects processing municipal solid waste,
with two new RIAs from Call 2019. It is interesting to note that the number of DEMO
projects processing biowaste, including MSW and wastewater, almost equals the number
of RIAs processing the same feedstock, showing a growing maturity in the technologies
used for processing this feedstock, as well as reflecting the maturity of the sector.
The use of aquatic biomass, although well represented, shows a slower adoption in both
RIAs and DEMOs. Call 2019, the projects of which are still in the GAP, delivered only one
RIA and one DEMO valorising this biomass.
The table shows that to date there are as yet no Flagships processing either aquatic
biomass or biowaste biomasses. This denotes that these sectors are not yet ready to
move to a higher level of TRL and technologies need still to be developed to generate
products that can reach the market. Seven ongoing flagship projects are clustered around
agri-based biomass while the other two are valorising diverse types of forest-based
37
feedstock. The two new Flagship projects resulting from Call 2019 will use respectively
agri-based and forest-based feedstock.
CSA projects are contributing to the SO4 “Create and accelerate the market-uptake of bio-
based products and applications” by addressing non-technological challenges. They cover
policy regulations and standardisation, consumer awareness of the benefits of bio-based
products, knowledge gathering and networking between the many actors of the different
segments of the value chains. Overall, there are nine CSA projects that are addressing the
strategic aspects of knowledge-gathering and networking to stimulate the market uptake
for bio-based products. There are in total 11 ongoing CSA projects in the current BBI JU
project portfolio and three additional ones are added as a result of Call 2019. This is
shown in table 4.
Table 4: CSA projects from: Call -2014 (red) -15 (brown) -16 (blue) -17 (green) -18 (yellow) and the proposals in GAP in Call 2019 (purple). The distributions reflect the portfolio of projects by the end of 2019
CONTRIBUTION OF BBI JU PROJECTS TO SIRA STRATEGIC
ORIENTATIONS
The SIRA 2017 introduced the definitions of four SOs, as explained in section 1.2.1. The
SOs focus on the supply of sustainable biomass (SO1), efficient processing (SO2), bio-
based product development and application (SO3) and lastly the market uptake of bio-
based products and applications (SO4). The programming of BBI JU Annual Work Plans
reflects this strategy by defining topics which address the main priorities within each SO.
Hence, projects selected under BBI JU calls incorporate by design the development and
deployment of technologies that are best suited to tackle the challenges and needs
identified in the SIRA. The current section aims at providing a general overview of the
coverage of SOs by BBI JU project portfolio.
IAs (DEMOs and Flagships) are required to cover the whole value chain, from the
sustainable production and sourcing of biomass, to the development and integration of
technologies and processes, up to the creation of new bio-based products with a concrete
application that meet societal and market demands. Therefore, IAs usually address all
four SOs, even though they may place specific emphasis on one or several. RIAs focus on
filling the gap in a bio-based value chain, by tackling one or more technological challenges,
and may address one or more SOs. Finally, CSAs facilitate the market uptake by
addressing non-technological hurdles, such as standards and regulations and citizens’
awareness about bio-based products.
38
The contribution of the BBI JU project portfolio to SO1, the sustainable sourcing of
different types of feedstock defined in the SIRA, is analysed in detail in the previous
section - Classification of BBI JU projects according to the main source of feedstock.
SO2 on efficient processing encompass objectives for the different steps of the
biorefinery process:
Pre-treatment: one of the needs highlighted in the SIRA is the
development of flexible and effective pre-treatment technologies to break
down recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomass into functional fractions. For
example, US4GREENCHEM combines mechanical pre-treatment methods
with ultrasound pre-treatment capable of disrupting the lignocellulosic
matrix with reduced energy input and minimal production of inhibitory by-
products.
Conversion of pre-treated feedstock into bio-based chemicals and
materials, using thermo- chemical processes, chemical catalysis and
industrial biotechnology. For example, SYLFEED DEMO project has
developed an innovative “wood to feed” value chain. After the pre-
treatment of the cellulose with acid and the subsequent enzymatic process,
SYLFEED second generation sugars are fermented and converted into high-
value Single Cell Protein (SCP) for its use as animal feed.
Downstream processing, including the development of efficient recovery,
fractionation, separation and purification steps. DEMO project SpiralG aims
to build an algal biorefinery production site, where algal biomass from
spirulina will be cultivated for the further extraction of phycocyanin, which
is used as a pigment in several applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic
and food industries.
SO3 on innovative bio-based products for specific applications for a wide range of
industry sectors and consumer products. The new bio-based products include both drop-
in solutions and radically new products and molecules. Please see the description of KPIs
4, 5 and 6 in section 1.3.3 BBI JU project portfolio: BBI JU specific KPIs for more details on the
different types of new bio-based building blocks, materials and consumer products. The
following are only a few examples of the areas of application covered by BBI JU projects:
Proteins and bioactive ingredients for food and feed, cosmetic and
pharma applications. The sustainable production of proteins, from both
vegetal sources or insects, is the focus of several BBI JU projects, such as
FARMYNG, PLENITUDE, GreenProtein, iFermenter, SYLFEED, InDirect or
PROMINENT, among others. Several other projects work on the extraction
of bioactive compounds for food/feed, cosmetic or health applications,
39
such as: BIOSEA, AQUABIOPROFIT, Pro-enrich, MACRO CASCADE, AgriMax,
ExCornsEED or Prolific.
Bio-based packaging for food or other applications, with enhanced
biodegradability and/or recyclability and improved mechanical, barrier and
antimicrobial properties, which result in more sustainable end-of-life cycles
and longer shelf lives, respectively. Examples of the BBI JU projects
delivering bio-based packaging are BioBarr, SHERPACK, FRESH,
PULPACKTION, BIOnTop, Celluwiz, BIOSMART, MANDALA or PEFerence, to
name just a few.
Automotive sector. In line with trends in the car industry, an increasing
number of BBI JU projects work on the production of bio-based materials
and composites, which are lighter and have improved mechanical
properties. Some examples are GreenLight, BIOMOTIVE, BARBARA, ECOXY
or ReInvent.
Textiles. Several BBI JU projects aim at developing sustainable bio-based
fibres and textiles for different applications, such as sportswear, carpets,
fishing or others. These fibres are eco-designed and have reduced
environmental impacts at both the production and end-of-life phases.
Some examples are: Neocel, EFFECTIVE, BIOnTop and POLYBIOSKIN.
SO4 - Accelerating market uptake of bio-based products. CSA projects greatly
contribute to addressing the non-technological hurdles that slow down the market
uptake, including public awareness, bio-based products standardisation and regulations,
networking within the bio-based industry or support to value chains via clustering and
road- mapping activities. Some examples are:
Communication on benefits of the bio-based economy: BioCannDo
focuses on improving communication on the sustainability aspects of bio-
based products among the multi-stakeholders. The goal is to engage a
European stakeholder network dealing with communication issues
regarding the bioeconomy with the involvement of a broader public view.
Standards and regulations: STAR4BBI aims at identifying the
technological trends in the bio-based economy to help establish a coherent,
well-coordinated and favourable regulatory framework that helps develop
a cutting-edge bio-based economy for Europe.
Facilitate access to infrastructures: Pilots4U supports the visibility of
European pilot and demo biorefinery facilities by providing an open-access
platform to assess the current and future needs of the European based
40
biorefineries and catalyses the communication between the bioeconomy
investors and European biorefinery technology developers.
Support the definition of roadmaps: RoadToBio aims to create a
roadmap and a platform for the European chemical industry, firstly to
illustrate the EU’s ‘sweetspots’ for the bioeconomy and secondly to bring
together chemical industry actors, civil society and governing bodies.
ICT support to an increased efficiency in the biomass sourcing: ICT-
BIOCHAIN targets the creation of ICT tools to increase the efficiency of
biomass supply chains. This tool will eventually be used to enhance the
connections between biomass suppliers and technology providers of bio-
based biorefineries.
Promoting education and research activities in the European bio-
based industry: UrBIOfuture will map the industry needs and the skills gap
and facilitate the interaction between the education sector, academia and
industry. Based on its insights and engagement, UrBIOfuture will create a
series of promotional events, including train-the-trainer and train-the-
student workshops.
In addition to the priorities set up in the SIRA, crucial crosscutting aspects for the
transition to a sustainable bio-based economy are the zero-waste, circular and cascading
approaches, which are embedded in BBI JU projects:
The zero-waste approach underlies the concept of a growing share of BBI JU projects, as
they aim at using organic “waste”, including residues, side-streams or industrial co-
products, as a feedstock, thereby reducing the waste and enhancing the efficiency in the
use of natural resources. This zero-waste approach is well exemplified by the projects
converting urban biowaste, wastewater and OFMSW into valuable chemicals and
compounds, such as DEEP PURPLE, URBIOFIN, AFTERLIFE, EMBRACED or PERCAL, among
others.
A clear circular approach is present in several BBI JU projects, especially in those
involving bio-based materials that can be recycled, reused and converted into other useful
materials. For example, EFFECTIVE project produces advanced eco-designed fibres and
films with bio-based polyamides and polyesters for large consumer products, including
garments, sportswear, carpets or textiles for the automotive and fishing sectors. These
fibres are eco-designed and enable the recycling of the different polymers at the end of
the product’s life.
The cascading biorefinery approach aims at maximising the conversion of the biomass
feedstock and its by-products into higher added value chemical products, thereby
41
profiting from the molecular complexity of natural fibres and materials, using the organic
residues to be burnt for energy only in the last steps of the biorefinery process. For
example, MACRO CASCADE project has set up a marine macroalgal biorefinery to extract
and separate multiple valuable compounds from brown and red seaweeds by enzyme-
aided physicochemical methods, using the residues to produce fertilisers and bioenergy.
GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF BBI JU INNOVATION ACTION PROJECTS
The geographical distribution of demonstration and flagship projects, stemming from the
first five BBI JU calls, is well balanced, with a good spread across the EU15, EU13 and
associated countries (Figure 5)17.
Flagship biorefineries are well distributed across Europe, with three of them located in
the EU13 (Slovakia, Romania and Estonia), five in the EU15 (Italy, France, Ireland and
Belgium) and one in an associated country (Norway). The two new Flagship projects
retained for funding from Call 2019 are expected to be located in the EU15 (France).
BBI JU DEMO plants have a wide coverage across the whole of Europe, with a good
involvement of Eastern and Southern European countries and associated countries. The
six new demonstration projects are expected to consolidate this positive trend.
The diversity of the geographical location of the Flagships mirrors the geographical variety
of the used feedstock. More specifically, Flagship projects located in Northern Europe,
such as Exilva (Norway) and SweetWoods (Estonia), are utilising wood and pulp industry
side-streams, as this type of feedstock is abundantly available in those countries with well-
established logistics. Projects based in Eastern Europe, Bioskoh (Slovakia) and LignoFlag
(Romania), are instead focusing on the availability of a huge number of agricultural side-
streams (e.g. wheat and barley straw, corn stover, rape seed, etc.) and opportunities to
grow dedicated crops on marginal lands. The Flagship projects based in Western Europe
are also quite diverse and use in different ways the agricultural and agro-food side-
streams and by-products as feedstock. AgriChemWhey (Ireland) uses the dairy processing
side-streams, while PEFerence (Belgium) valorises fructose from starch produced for non
food use purpose, collected from wheat and corn processing industries. First2Run (Italy)
is utilising a marginal and semi-arid land of Sardinia island to grow dedicated cardoon
crops to be transformed in a local biorefinery. Plenitude (Belgium) will enable food-grade
mycoprotein production within an integrated bioethanol refinery using sustainable cereal
crops. FARMYNG (France) valorises agri-food waste to feed Tenebrio molitor (mealworm)
larvae for the production of proteins.
17 The location of DEMO Plants for Call 2019 are not all full known at this stage. The information for the DEMO and
Flagships for Call 2019 might change because the proposals are still in GAP phase at this stage.
42
The two Flagships retained for funding from BBI JU Call 201918 will valorise sugar industry
side-streams (beet pulp and molasses) into high-value organic acids and wood and wood
biomass (from pulp and paper mill industries) into a non-toxic and high-performing
solvent.
Based on the considerations above, the geographical distribution of IAs shows that BBI JU
is progressing well towards the objectives in the SIRA, which is supporting the
development of a bio-based economy across Europe and addressing its full potential of
feedstock.
More detailed information on the BBI JU projects can be found on the BBI JU website19.
Figure 5: Geographical distribution of the Demo and Flagship plants
18 These two Flagship were in the GAP phase end December 2019 and their precise location can change.
19 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/projects
1.2.4. Project Monitoring Activities
Project monitoring encompasses all project management activities performed by BBI JU
from the moment that the Grant Agreement (GA) is signed until the payment of the
balance. In all project monitoring activities, BBI JU fully applies Horizon 2020 rules,
procedures and IT tools20. BBI JU-specific elements are further clarified in the ‘Project
Management’ part of BBI JU’s website21.
Kick-off meetings. In 2019, 19 kick-off meetings for the projects from Call 2018 took place
between April and October 2019. BBI JU ensured participation in each of them.
Project reviews are carried out by external experts in order to monitor the
implementation of on-going projects. In principle, BBI JU organises project reviews for all
its projects after submission of the first periodic report (see below). In 2019, BBI JU
organised 30 project reviews: 25 reviews of Call 2016 projects, 4 reviews of Call 2017
projects and 1 review of a Call 2015 project.
Periodic reporting and payments. In 2019, BBI JU completed 44 periodic report
assessments and finalised 43 related interim payments within an average of 74 days
(compared to 71.3 days in 2018). Furthermore, 98% (42/43) of the payments were finalised
within the TTP deadline of 90 days, compared to 97% in 2018. These results show that the
excellent performance obtained in 2018 in assessment and payment was maintained
throughout 2019.
Amendments. Applying Horizon 2020 procedures22, BBI JU assessed and processed 53
GA amendment requests initiated by project coordinators in 2019, compared to 42
requests processed in 2018. 50 requests out of 53 were accepted.
Project finalisation. In 2019, the Programme Office processed 12 payments of the
balance compared to only one in 2018.
1.2.5. Synergies with other initiatives
The main BBI JU objective is to maximise the impact of the BBI JU funding to support the
growth of a sustainable and competitive bio-based industrial sector in Europe. According
to the Council Regulation, BBI JU should develop close synergies with other EU
programmes in areas such as education, environment, competitiveness and SMEs, and
20 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/grants/grant-management_en.htm
21 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/participate/project-management
22 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/grants/grant-management/amendments_en.htm
44
with the Cohesion Policy funds and Rural Development Policy as well as the European
Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). Such synergies can help to strengthen local,
regional and national research and innovation capabilities in the area of the BBI JU.
During 2019, the BBI JU has taken actions to promote synergies, to identify
complementarities and to avoid overlaps with other funding programmes. More
specifically, the BBI JU work on synergies focused on the following:
Synergies and complementarities with the contractual public-private
partnership SPIRE23.
Over the past years, BBI JU and the Sustainable Process Industry through
Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE) have been jointly exploring
collaborative ways of maximising their impact. Since 2016, these two public-
private partnerships (PPP) established a Joint Working Group with the objective
of working at several levels: strategic (towards synergies at the level of SIRA,
SPIRE road map and BBI/SPIRE work programmes); implementation (towards
synergies between funded projects); and dissemination and stakeholders’
networking (towards dissemination of information and promotion of
networking between SPIRE and BBI communities). In 2019, the sixth and
seventh meetings of the Joint Working Group were organised (on 18 March and
18 September respectively) and these were the main achievements:
Full alignment in strategic agendas and work plans, emphasising
further complementarity and striving for synergy between topics.
SPIRE’s 2050 Roadmap, its Innovation Areas and Programmes have
been defined in a collaborative process in which BBI JU had an active
role.
Exchange of information on impact monitoring and potential links
for cooperation among projects funded by both initiatives;
Close coordination of communication activities and access to
respective communication channels for promotional purposes. For
example, during 2019 BBI JU participated in several related events
such as the SusChem stakeholder event (27 November), and the
SusChem event ‘Towards a New SusChem SIRA Workshop’ on 16 and
17 May.
The last meeting of the year confirmed the effectiveness of the
collaborative work towards the future of both initiatives under
23https://www.spire2030.eu/
45
Horizon Europe, ensuring complementarities, coherence and
mutual understanding. The commitment to work in cooperation has
been demonstrated by its participants, enabling full alignment of the
respective SIRAs & Road Maps of SusChem/BIC/SPIRE in order to
avoid overlaps and maximise synergies.
Develop synergies and complementarities with ESIF in order to strengthen
national and regional research and innovation capabilities in the context of
smart specialisation strategies (S3). Complementarities between the BBI JU
funding programme and ESIF represent an important opportunity for these
regions that have identified - among their S3 priorities - activities oriented
to supporting the bio-based industries. In 2019, this was the main
achievement:
Publication of the report “Joint Undertakings: analysis of
collaboration mechanisms with ESI Funds in an S3 context” 24 in April
2019, including the results of the pilot event organised by the
European Commision’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) to promote
synergies with ESIF/RIS3 in the context of the project Stairways
for Excellence25 in 2018.
Develop synergies and complementarities with other European
Partnerships.
The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean
Area (PRIMA) organised a Workshop on Synergies with EU and
International Initiatives in Athens on 21-22 November 2019. This
partnership funds Research and Innovation through competitive
calls to build R&I capacities and to develop knowledge and common
innovative solutions for agro-food systems, to make them
sustainable, and for integrated water provision and management in
the Mediterranean area, to make those systems and that provision
and management more climate resilient, efficient, cost-effective and
environmentally and socially sustainable, and to contribute to
solving water scarcity, promoting food security, nutrition, health,
well-being and addressing migration problems upstream. The focus
24 Report available here: https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/joint-undertakings-analysis-of-collaboration-
mechanisms-with-esi-funds-in-a-s3-context?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fstairway-to-excellence
25 https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/stairway-to-excellence
46
of the event was on the adoption of innovation and alignment of
research, as well as activities such as dissemination, scaling up of
R&I actions, capacity development and technology transfer. BBI JU
participated in the roundtable on “Exchange of experiences and
practices towards the adoption of Innovation”. Concrete
collaborative actions to explore synergies on widening participation
and the projects impact assessment are expected in the course of
2020.
Develop synergies and complementarities with other Joint Undertakings.
Clean Sky (the Joint Undertaking with the European aeronautics
industry) is financing a Coordination and Support Action
(Transcend26) to generate an inventory of alternative fuels applicable
to aircrafts complemented by a series of roadmaps to facilitate the
transition to alternative fuels by 2050. BBI JU participated in the
meeting organised by Clean Sky on 9 of December and was invited
to participate in the Advisory Board of the Transcend project.
It should be noted that BBI JU and its partners EC and BIC have different possibilities to
foster synergies based on their respective remits and competences. To this end, BBI JU
works in close collaboration with them in order to maximise the outcomes. Further
information on EU funding synergies can also be found on the BBI JU website27.
An important achievement during 2019 was the implementation of the “BBI JU Synergy
Label” pilot28.
Following the mandate of the Governing Board (GB), BBI JU launched the “BBI Synergy
Label” pilot in September 2019 during the “European Research and Innovation Days”
organised by the European Commission29. The “BBI Synergy Label” aims to ensure the
uptake of excellent proposals that could not be financed under the BBI Call 2018 despite
their excellent marks due to a lack of available budget. Consortia being awarded the
Synergy Label can use it to access alternative/complementary funding at national and/or
regional level. The BBI Synergy Label contributes to enhancing synergies between BBI JU
26 https://trimis.ec.europa.eu/project/technology-review-alternative-and-novel-sources-clean-energy-next-
generation-drivetrains
27 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/participate/other-funding
28 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/participate/bbi-synergy-label
29 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/events/cf/european-research-and-innovation-days/item-
display.cfm?id=23558
47
activities, Member States, regions and other funding organizations in the field of Bio-
based Industries.
Launched in September 2019, the pilot initiative awarded 12 BBI JU proposals, recognising
their value and excellence and supporting their search for alternative funding. During this
pilot phase, the Synergy Label focused on Innovation Actions (DEMOs and Flagships)
because of the clear localisation of investments in specific countries/regions and their
higher TRLs, all of which implies a higher socio-economic and environmental impact in the
territories.
In the framework of the BBI JU Synergy Label, BBI JU signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
developing a structured collaboration to maximise opportunities for access to finance by
the applicant community. In addition, BBI JU is in ongoing exploratory discussions with
other financing organisations such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the newly
established European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF30).
30 https://www.ecbf.vc/
48
1.3. CALLS FOR PROPOSALS AND GRANT INFORMATION
In 2019, BBI JU operations included the conclusion of the Grant Agreement Preparation
(GAP) for Call 2018, which resulted in the signature of 19 Grant Agreements, bringing the
total number of projects in the BBI JU portfolio to 101 by the end of the year.
In addition, BBI JU successfully implemented Call 2019. The final ranking list was adopted
by the BBI JU GB on 13 December 2019, the letter of information was sent to applicants
on 17 December 2019, and the Grant Agreement Preparation process was initiated before
the end of the year for 23 retained proposals
The two sections below are structured as follows:
Section 1.3.1 describes the progress of the current project portfolio,
including the ongoing projects from Calls 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and
projects invited to GAP as a result of the Call 2019 evaluation. The
description specifically covers the statistics and KPIs which are common to
all Horizon 2020 programmes as well as indicators specific to BBI JU.
Section 1.3.2 describes the Call 2019 statistics at the stage of submission
and evaluation, the finalisation of Grant Agreement Preparation (GAP) for
projects from Call 2018 and some key lessons learnt.
1.3.1. Progress against KPIs / Statistics
The BBI JU programme implementation is monitored at four levels:
1. Efficiency monitoring and cross-cutting issues is based on Horizon 2020 KPIs
common to all Joint Undertakings (JU)31 and further indicators linked to programme
monitoring32 and cross-cutting issues, such as gender dimension, widening
participation, SME participation and type of organisation. Achievements of objectives
at the end of 2019 are presented in section 1.3.1.1 ‘Horizon 2020 KPIs and cross-
cutting issues’ and in the tables in annexes 7.5 and 7.6;
2. The leverage effect of private funding versus public funding is monitored on a
yearly basis. The difference between the total costs of the projects and the JU
31 Based on Annex II (PERFORMANCE INDICATORS) and Annex III (MONITORING) of Council Decision
2013/743/EU.
32 Indicators linked to monitoring of programme implementation, e.g. evaluation (time to inform the applicants, time to grant, etc.).
49
contribution for all beneficiaries and the in-kind contributions for the additional
activities (IKAA) are used to calculate the leverage effect. Achievements of objectives
at the end of 2019 are presented in section 1.3.1.2;
3. Project outcomes are monitored through BBI JU-specific KPIs described in the SIRA,
measured against yearly project reporting and agreed objectives. Achievements of
objectives at the end of 2019 are presented in section 1.3.1.3;
4. Expected socio-economic and environmental impact of the BBI JU projects.
Achievements at the end of 2019 based on a yearly survey of projects are presented
in section 1.3.1.4.
1.3.2. Horizon 2020 KPIs and cross-cutting issues
EFFICIENCY MONITORING
Under Horizon 2020, the BBI JU has a legal obligation to monitor its programme
implementation, to report annually and to disseminate the results of this monitoring. The
three main KPIs through which the performance of BBI JU is monitored are Time To Inform
(TTI), Time to Grant (TTG) and Time to Pay (TTP) (part of the Horizon 2020 common KPIs -
see section 7.5).
In 2019, the efficient performance of BBI JU in core operations was confirmed, continuing
the positive trends observed in previous years. More specifically, all applicants of Call 2019
were informed about the evaluation results 102 days after the closure of the call, well in
advance of the TTI target set for Horizon 2020 (153 days).
TTI of 104 days against a target of 153 (100% on time);
TTG of 235 days on average against a target of 245 days (95% on time);
TTP of 9.9 days for pre-financing on average against a target of 30 days
(100% on time)
TTP of 73.8 days on average for periodic payments against a target of 90
days (98% on time).
With respect to TTG, all GAs from GAP 2018, except for one project, were signed on time.
One project was signed after 308 days, because of a change in the consortium’s partners.
All Grant Agreements were signed within an average of 235 days after the closure of the
call, against a target of 245 days. The average time to pay (TTP) for pre-financing to
50
projects from GAP 2018 was 9.9 days, compared to the target of 30 days. All payments
were performed on time.
Finally, in 2019, BBI JU assessed the periodic reports (technical and financial) submitted
by the projects funded under Calls 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The average time to pay
of the cost claims derived from the periodic reporting was 73.8 days, compared to the
target of 90 days. 98% of these payments were performed on time, only one of them was
late.
Overall, BBI JU has operated efficiently and its average performance against the three
main KPIs of Horizon 2020 exceeds the set targets.
In the next paragraphs a more detailed overview of the main Horizon 2020 cross-cutting
issues is provided:
geographical distribution of participants, widening participation;
types of organisations participating in BBI JU actions;
SME participation;
gender dimension.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PARTICIPANTS, WIDENING PARTICIPATION
The geographical distribution of beneficiaries in BBI JU follows the trend also observed in
Horizon 2020 in general, with most of the funding going to the EU15 (Figure 6). Similarly,
EU13 participation rates in the BBI JU calls are lower than for the EU15, at the level of both
proposals (Figure 7) and projects (Figure 8). Notably, the overall success rate of EU13
countries in BBI JU calls is 14% compared to an overall success rate of 19% for the EU15.
In spite of this, and although EU13 countries receive a lower share of the BBI JU
contribution than EU15 ones, overall the former group performs better in BBI JU calls
(10%) than in other programmes such as SC2 (8.05%) or the LEIT KET Biotechnology
programme (4.0%)33, as was also pointed out in the interim evaluation of the BBI JU34.
33 Based on Horizon 2020 dashboard, extracted on 31 January 2020. (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-
tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/projects-results)
34 Interim Evaluation of the BBI JU (2014-2016) operating under Horizon 2020
51
Figure 6: Grants (in EUR millions) per EU15 and EU13 Member States in Calls 2014-2019 (the data for the Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
Figure 7: Distribution of applicants per country from EU15 and EU13 in Calls 2014-2019
€-
€10
€20
€30
€40
€50
€60
€70
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€90
FR ES IT NL DE BE UK FI IE SE AT DK PT EL LU SK RO EE PL HR SI CZ CY HU LV BG LT MT
Mili
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FR ES IT NL DE BE UK FI IE SE AT DK PT EL LU SK RO EE PL HR SI CZ CY HU LV BG LT MT
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52
Figure 8: Distribution of beneficiaries per country from EU15 and EU13 in Calls 2014-2019 (the data for the Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
The data presented in Figures 7-8 clearly demonstrate that there is a group of five
countries that are the main actors in BBI JU projects. However, this presentation does not
consider inherent differences between the countries, such as the size of the economy, the
investment in research and development (R&D), and the population. These comparisons
are performed in Figures 9-11, where the BBI JU funding allocated to the beneficiaries of
each EU country is respectively normalised by the Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D
(GERD)35, Gross Domestic Product (GDP)36 and population37, as extracted from the
corresponding Eurostat databases on 21 August 2019. The blue lines in Figure 9 represent
the normalised BBI JU funding (total) per category of countries, using the summation of
the GERD of the countries belonging to the corresponding group. Similarly, the blue lines
in Figures 10 and 11 represent the total normalised BBI JU funding per country group by
GDP and population, respectively.
The normalisation of the BBI JU funding by GERD in Figure 9 shows that the highest
success in obtaining BBI JU funding compared to the national investment in R&D comes
from the EU13 countries Estonia, Slovakia and Romania, thanks to the respective Flagship
projects SWEETWOODS, BIOSKOH and LIGNOFLAG. Other EU13 countries, such as
Croatia, Slovenia and Cyprus, as well as some EU15 countries, such as Belgium and
Ireland, also appear to perform well, although the absolute values of their BBI JU funding
are not high. Conversely, some countries with high BBI JU funding in absolute values, such
35 Intramural R&D expenditure (GERD) by sectors of performance and fields of science, as a summation of years
2009-2017
36 Gross Domestic Product, as an average value between the years 2009-2018.
37 Average value between the years 2009-2018.
0
50
100
150
200
250
FR ES IT NL DE BE UK FI IE SE AT DK PT EL LU SK RO EE PL HR SI CZ CY HU LV BG LT MT
EU - 15 EU - 13
53
as Germany, France and United Kingdom, seem to have a relatively low performance in
obtaining BBI JU funding when compared to their overall investment in R&D. Moreover,
the overall comparison between EU15 and EU13 demonstrates that despite the higher
BBI JU funding received by EU15 countries in absolute terms (Figure 8), EU13 countries
perform more than three times better than EU15 countries, when the investment in R&D
is considered as the normalisation parameter in the analysis.
Figure 9: Distribution of funding per country from EU15 and EU13 in Calls 2014-2019 normalised by GERD (normalised performance index 0-10)
Similar conclusions for the countries’ performance in obtaining BBI JU funding can be
drawn for the normalised BBI JU funding based on the GDP, shown in Figure 10. In this
case, however, the overall performance of EU13 countries is better compared to that of
EU15. When the normalisation is instead performed based on the population of the
country, the results show the opposite picture to those in figure 9. This data essentially
represents the BBI JU funding per capita, and EU15 countries appear to perform better
than EU13 countries, receiving EUR 0.7 more per capita. In particular, it is interesting to
observe that, for the countries with the largest values in absolute funding (Germany, Italy,
Spain, France), the funding per capita converges at around EUR 1 per capita, whereas
certain countries (from both EU13 and EU15) which receive low levels of funding in
absolute terms, have high BBI JU funding per capita. A case in point are Estonia, Slovakia
and Slovenia, where the funding per capita ranges from around EUR 2 to EUR 8, as a result
of the funding for Flagship and/or DEMO projects.
54
Figure 10: Distribution of funding per country from EU15 and EU13 in Calls 2014-2019 normalised by GDP (normalised performance index 0-10)
Figure 11: Distribution of funding per country from EU15 and EU13 in Calls 2014-2019 per capita
The normalised comparisons in Figures 9-11 provide an important perspective with
respect to the overall performance of the various countries across Europe in the BBI JU
portfolio, indicating that making reference solely to absolute values provides a picture of
geographical unbalance, which is probably skewed, due to the inherent differences
among the countries. Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that any conclusions
drawn from these normalisations are only to be considered indicative.
55
Regarding the level of participation of associated and third countries in proposals (Figure
12) and projects (Figure 13), there is a clear indication of the consistently strong
mobilisation from countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Turkey and Israel and the
retained interest in the BBI JU Initiative from a broader set of countries such as Serbia,
Iceland and The Faroe Islands. This is also reflected in success rates of applicants, as with
respect to the funding going to associated and third countries, the budget distribution is
generally aligned with the level of participation (Figure 14).
Figure 12: Distribution of applicants from associated and third countries, industrialised countries, and emerging economies and developing countries) in Calls 2014-2019 (the data for Call 2019 refers to retained proposals
0
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56
Figure 13: Distribution of beneficiaries from associated countries in Calls 2014-2019 (the data for Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
Figure 14: Grants (in EUR millions) per associated countries in Calls 2014-2019 (the data for Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
In order to optimise the geographical distribution within the EU, BBI JU launched its
widening participation strategy, developed with the support of the SRG. The actions to be
taken forward by BBI JU, BIC, the European Commission and the SRG are grouped mainly
around the following two pillars:
0
5
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57
promoting and raising awareness of the BBI JU programme at European
and national levels;
encouraging wider and more inclusive participation in the calls.
The actions undertaken in 2019 focused mainly on encouraging a renewed engagement
vis-à-vis countries that are underrepresented in BBI JU calls.
FOCUS ON REGIONS AND UNDERREPRESENTED COUNTRIES
During 2019, BBI JU efforts were concentrated on bolstering the participation of
decentralised regions and areas, thereby creating clusters of knowledge and
technological innovation:
At the event “Towards a circular bioeconomy in Navarra: regional
challenges and European opportunities” (25 January 2019) in Pamplona,
Spain, BBI JU introduced stakeholders to the opportunities and tools
available to the local players in Navarra to innovate in the bioeconomy. As
Navarra implements its Vision 2030 around the agri-food sector, the
Circular Bioeconomy model could act as integrator of different policies and
industrial initiatives.
BBI JU participated in the Workshop “BIOPACKAGING – LET'S CREATE A
FUTURE TOGETHER” held in Vienna on the 6th of March 2019. The objective
of the workshop was to facilitate cross-border and cross-regional
cooperation of clusters and SMEs for creation of a bio-based packaging
value chain. The workshop helped to create project ideas/initiatives and a
macro regional network. BBI JU presented its activities and opportunities
for bio-based companies from Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czech
Republic.
BBI JU co-organised the joint SCAR-SRG workshop “Advancing the creation
of regional bioeconomy clusters in Europe” (held in Brussels, Belgium, on
14 March 2019), fostering interest in the creation of bioeconomy clusters in
regions and countries which are less active in the bioeconomy and bio-
based sectors. As existing studies published by the European Commission
demonstrated the direct link between the high participation of a certain
country in the BBI JU and the presence of clusters, the exchange of
knowledge and experiences in developing such clusters represented an
opportunity for actors with a focus on regions that could play a much more
prominent role in the European bioeconomy.
58
In March and April, BBI JU participated in tailored events in Central and
Eastern European countries, with the aim of further progressing and
developing the vision for their increased engagement in yearly calls. For
example, info days were held in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia and
Czech Republic, providing participants with information about the BBI JU
Initiative, explaining the rules and possibilities of applying for funds in the
year's calls and presenting ongoing projects to showcase the Initiative.
On April 5, 2019, BBI JU’s Executive Director Philippe Mengal participated as
a speaker in the panel “Challenges for Research and Innovation in
Agriculture and Bio-economy in Central and Eastern Europe”, organised in
the context of the high-level conference on agricultural research and
innovation. The event, held in Bucharest, provided an opportunity for a
broad exchange of views on major challenges and opportunities in the
context of the need for developing and expanding measures based on
innovation. It aimed at showing trends and the way towards sustainability
through agricultural research and biomass management.
The European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) organised a
conference in Brussels on 11 and 12 April 2019, with over 400 rural
stakeholders. The conference aimed to recognize the value of networking
for rural development, demonstrate the results of the past ten years of
rural networking and proactively look at its future. The participation of BBI
JU revolved around the theme of “networking for policy”, with a specific
focus on initiatives aimed at supporting the development of the rural
bioeconomy.
At the First Greek Bioeconomy Forum in Thessaloniki (10-11 May 2019), as
well as other events and info days in the country, BBI JU promoted
awareness on the advantages and opportunities offered by the
bioeconomy sector in Europe, and by the BBI JU funding tool. The increasing
participation of the BBI JU to Greek events were aimed at promoting its
participation in future calls for proposals and to tackle its current
underrepresentation in ongoing projects.
Through its final event, the BBI JU project First2Run38 in Brussels, Belgium
(20 June 2019) demonstrated at industrial scale the technological, economic
and environmental sustainability of a first-of-a-kind value chain using low
input and underutilised oil crops, grown in arid and/or marginal lands and
not in competition with food or feed. BBI JU participated to the roundtable
38 For more information on the project and the final event, see http://www.first2run.eu/final-event/
59
discussion revolving around the project’s implementation, to underline the
importance of de-risking investments to accelerate the development of the
bioeconomy and bridge the gap between less-developed areas and
economic growth.
BBI JU took an active part in a roundtable on opportunities for the Bio-based
industries in Croatia, organised by the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture and
hosted at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Zagreb on 4 July. The
event focused on how to mobilise Croatian stakeholders in the sector,
analysing the hurdles for business in developing the bio-based industries,
and discussing how to create synergies between key EU financing
instruments and policy initiatives relevant for development of the
bioeconomy/bio-based industries, also bearing in mind the upcoming
Croatian EU presidency.
Between 19 and 22 September 2019, BBI JU presented the bio-based
industries in Europe at the Balkan Clean Energy Transition Conference. The
ambition of the conference was to accelerate the presence of the Balkan
area on the global map, as a vibrant and vital area where innovative
solutions for a cleaner, greener, smarter, safer, and better world are
fostered. It aimed to serve as the institutional initiative to start preparing
for a transition to the post coal era.
The Blue Biotech Day Malta (1 October 2019) was the first dedicated event
on Blue Biotechnology taking place in Malta. The event was part of the
series of events organised across Europe to celebrate the emerging
biotechnology sectors. The participants had the opportunity to be informed
about the latest marine biotechnology projects and activities happening in
Malta, to network and to discuss industry funding streams. BBI JU
presented its activities and the funding opportunities for blue bioeconomy
projects.
On 24 October 2019, the European Initiative RUBIZMO organised the event
“Supporting rural business success across Europe” in Brussels, Belgium.
The objective of the event was to discuss recommendations to foster the
large-scale deployment of innovative business models that can support
sustainable growth and job creation in European rural areas. Along with the
vision for the present and future rural development policy framework, the
conference explored opportunities to develop supportive rural business
environments and make collaboration the key to success for rural
entrepreneurship. BBI JU’s participation as chair of the bio-based value
60
chains section of the Rural Business Innovation Awards put the spotlight on
the Initiative as the catalyst for a circular bioeconomy in Europe.
NATIONAL INFO DAYS
In 2019, BBI JU participated in 13 national info days organised by European Member States
and associated countries with a broad geographical coverage, including EU13 Member
States such as Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Latvia and associated countries
such as Israel. The main purpose of national info days is to ensure effective dissemination
of information on the annual call for proposals (in this case Call 2019) and improve the
quality of proposals submitted. In addition, BBI JU communicates widely about its calls to
stakeholders through its events and website. For more detailed information on the list of
national info days, see table 15 in section 2.1.1 “Promoting BBI JU Call 2019: BBI JU Info
Days”.
EVOLUTION OF PARTICIPATION OF MEMBER STATES AND ASSOCIATED COUNTRIES IN THE BBI JU
The widening participation strategy results are further reflected in the evolution of the
participation of Member States and associated countries in Call 2019 as compared with
previous calls. Figures 15 and 16 show the number of applicants in submitted proposals
per country for the calls implemented thus far, for EU15 and EU13 respectively. An
increased mobilisation is observed for a few countries in the EU15, especially from the
Mediterranean region (e.g. Spain, Italy). Interestingly, the participation rates of EU13
countries increased for more than half of them in Call 2019 as compared to 2018 (e.g.
Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia). However, at the level of the beneficiaries
(absolute values), EU15 countries (Figure 17) appear to perform better than EU13 (Figure
18), rendering their overall success rates lower than those of EU15 applicants.
61
Figure 15: Distribution of applicants per country from EU15 in Calls 2014-2019
Figure 16: Distribution of applicants per country EU13 in Calls 2014-2019
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
AT BE DE DK EL ES FI FR IE IT LU NL PT SE UK
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
EU - 15
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
BG CY CZ EE HR HU LT LV MT PL RO SI SK
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
EU - 13
62
Figure 17: Distribution of beneficiaries per country from EU15 in Calls 2014-2018 and in proposals selected for funding in Call 2019
Figure 18: Distribution of beneficiaries per country from EU13 in Calls 2014-2018 and in proposals selected for funding in Call 2019
Considering the participation of EU15 and EU13 countries as a group (Figures 19 and 20
respectively), a stable number of EU13 applications can be observed over the last two
years. This demonstrates the efforts made by the BBI JU Programme Office in raising
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
AT BE DE DK EL ES FI FR IE IT LU NL PT SE UK
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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63
awareness about the calls throughout recent years, especially in underrepresented
countries, via the participation in info days and other relevant events as previously
described.
Figure 19: Distribution of applicants and beneficiaries from EU15 in Calls 2014-2018 and in proposals selected for funding in Call 2019
33%
38%
29%
11%
15%
15%
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
EU-15
Applicants non-beneficiaries Beneficiaries
8%
19%
22%
13%
10%
8%
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
EU-13
Applicants non-beneficiaries Beneficiaries
64
Figure 20: Distribution of applicants and beneficiaries from EU13 in Calls 2014-2018 and in proposals selected for funding in Call 2019
TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS IN BBI JU PROJECTS
Within the 101 funded projects from BBI JU Calls 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, as well
as the 23 projects currently in GAP from Call 2019, 882 beneficiaries represent the private-
for-profit sector, corresponding to 60.2% of all BBI JU beneficiaries. For Call 2019 in
particular, this trend is confirmed with a good balance of industrial participation,
representing 62% of the total number of participants in retained proposals. In terms of
allocated funding, the total BBI JU contribution to the private-for-profit sector accounts
for EUR 468 066 225, equivalent to 65.2% of the total BBI JU funding (Table 5). Within the
private-for profit entities, 55% are SMEs (Figure 21), and 36% are large industries39, which
corresponds to an almost even funding distribution between SMEs and large industries
(Figure 22). It is important to highlight that this share is in line with the overall SME
participation in the BBI JU portfolio, which is very high, and it corresponds to 39% of the
total beneficiaries (see Figure 25). This confirms the pivotal role held by SMEs in the
deployment of bio-based industries.
The high participation of the private sector in the BBI JU programme is consistent with the
fact that BBI JU is an industry-driven initiative. However, the beneficiaries of BBI JU projects
also include an important share of research organisations, representing 19.4% of the
total, together with higher education establishments accounting for 12.7%. Therefore,
together research organisations and higher education establishments represent a share
of around 32% of the total participants. These organisations play a key role in driving
innovation and technological advancement and therefore support the successful
implementation of BBI JU’s projects.
Type of
participants
Number of
participants
Number of
participants
vs total
participation
Received grant
(in EUR)
Funding
received
vs total
funding
Private-for-
profit
organisations
882 60.2% €468,066,224.64 65.2%
39 The remaining 9% are represented by private-for profit legal entities with a currently undefined distinction between
SMEs or large industry. This data is available in CORDA (extraction of 14/12/2018). The beneficiaries report on their type of legal entity (Public, private-for–profit, research organisation etc.), but it is not mandatory for them to report on SME/large industry status. The beneficiaries who have not reported on these specific parameters are regrouped in a separate category as “Unidentified PRCs”.
65
Research
organisations 285 19.4% €128,801,461.86 17.9%
Higher
education
establishments
186 12.7% €86,388,257.80 12.0%
Others 10 0.7% €1,285,155.25 0.2%
Public body 103 7.0% €33,069,201.57 4.6%
Total 1466 100% €717,610,301.12 100%
Table 5: Calls 2014-2019 number/type of participants and attribution of BBI JU funding in selected proposals. *Call 2019 still under GAP.
Figure 21: Calls 2014-2019 number/type of participants in selected proposals.
66
Figure 22: Calls 2014-2019 BBI JU funding/type of participants in selected proposals. * For Call 2019 the BBI JU grant will be allocated to beneficiaries upon the finalisation of the GAP process
Moreover, the high participation of the private sector in the BBI JU programme as an
industry-driven initiative is substantiated by the important share of funding that goes to
BIC constituent entities, as well as the share in the number of beneficiaries, as shown in
the figure below.
Figure 23: Distribution of funding and beneficiaries amongst BIC/non-BIC entities (non-unique) in Calls 2014-2019. (The data for the Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
67
Similar patterns of participation are observed at the level of submission. The private-for-
profit organisations represent about 55.1% of the total applications requesting 53% of the
total budget (Table 6). Nevertheless, the types of applicants remain diverse with an
important representation from research organisations (about 20%) and higher education
establishments (about 19%) accounting for respectively 19.2% and 18.1% of requested
funding (Figure 24).
Type of
participants
Number of
applications
Number of
applications
vs total
participation
Requested grant
(in EUR)
Funding
requested
vs total
funding
Private-for-profit
organisations 4407 55.1%
€2,212,842,047.57 53.0%
Research
organisations 1598 20.0% €802,994,749.52 19.2%
Higher education
establishments 1479 18.5% €756,417,853.10 18.1%
Public body 64 0.8% €29,372,348.63 0.7%
Others 443 5.5% €374,551,338.50 9.0%
Total 7991 100%
€4,176,178,337.32 100%
Table 6: Calls 2014-2019 number/type of participants and attribution of BBI JU funding in submitted proposals. 40
40 The table analyses total applications, therefore non-unique.
68
Figure 24: Calls 2014-2019 applicants and requested funding/type of applicants.
SMES PARTICIPATING IN BBI JU CALLS AND PROJECTS
BBI JU programme demonstrates an excellent SME participation through an effective and
well-balanced portfolio that is creating unique opportunities for SMEs to cooperate,
develop their knowledge and establish cross-sector interconnections to find new business
opportunities in the bio-based sector. Their relevant participation in the different types of
actions (RIAs, IAs and CSAs) and their unique contribution as enablers for the generation
of new knowledge and products demonstrate their innovation-driven effect and their
contribution to the bio-based sector structuring effect as well as to the development of
the bio-based SMEs’ landscape in Europe.
The high participation rate of SMEs was also recognised by the 2017 Interim Evaluation
performed by the EC41 as one of the main achievements of BBI JU since its launch. Upon
the request of BBI JU’s Governing Board and advisory bodies, the BBI JU Programme Office
undertook a thorough study to map the SME landscape in the BBI JU project portfolio in
order to have a deeper understanding of the SMEs’ role and impact on innovation in the
BBI JU programme and their contribution to the structuring effect on the bio-based
industrial sector. The results of this study were published in November 2019 in the report
“The BBI JU landscape: driving impact and innovation”42.
The analysis shows that SMEs have a prominent and varied role in the bio-based
industries, providing specific expertise, innovation and technology development, which
makes them essential for the projects and the sector. The share of SME applicants43 (32%),
and the share of SME beneficiaries in retained proposals (39%) (Figure 25) demonstrate
the vital role that SMEs play in the BBI JU programme and in the bio-based economy, and
prove that BBI JU represents a valuable instrument for innovation.
This level of SME participation corresponds to an overall allocated funding of 35% (Figure
25) as well as an overall success rate of 32% (showing an increase of 33% as compared to
previous call). The significant share of SME beneficiaries and funding allocated to SMEs is
confirmed for 2019 data exceeding the target mentioned in the SIRA 2017, which is 20%.
41 Interim Evaluation of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (2014-2016) operating under Horizon 2020.
Experts Group Report available here: https://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/bbi.pdf
42 Report available here: https://www.bbi-europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbiju-sme-landscape.pdf
43 The share of SMEs is calculated based on the applicants’ self-assessment done at the submission stage
69
Figure 25: Calls 2014-2019 share of SME unique applicants, beneficiaries and share of funding (the data for Call 2019 refers to retained proposals)
Figure 26 shows the total SME participation in Horizon 2020 programmes in comparison
with SME participation in BBI JU projects. Notably, BBI JU is attracting a significantly higher
participation compared to the whole Horizon 2020 programme. Figure 27 shows the level
of funding to SMEs in BBI JU projects (and retained proposals invited to GAP for Call 2019)
in the six ongoing calls. This is also demonstrated by the level of funding to SMEs in BBI
JU projects (and retained proposals invited to GAP for Call 2019) in the six ongoing calls,
as shown in Figure 27.
Figure 26: SME participation in BBI JU projects (Call 2014-2018) and retained proposals (Call 2019) in comparison with total Horizon 2020 SME participation as well as SME participation in SC and LEIT combined and SC244.
44 Source for Horizon 2020 SME participation: Horizon 2020 dashboard queried on 31/01/2020.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/projectresults/index.html
70
Figure 27: SME funding in BBI JU projects (Call 2014-2018) and retained proposals (Call 2019) in comparison with total Horizon 2020 SME funding as well as SME funding in SC2 and LEIT combined and SC245.
GENDER DIMENSION
In Horizon 2020, gender is a cross-cutting issue and is mainstreamed in each of the
different parts of the programme, ensuring a more gender-balanced approach to
research and innovation. Three objectives underpin the strategy on gender equality in
Horizon 202046:
fostering gender balance in research teams, in order to close the gaps in
the participation of women versus men;
ensuring gender balance in decision-making, in order to reach the target of
40% of the under-represented gender in panels and groups and of 50% in
advisory groups;
integrating the gender dimension in research and innovation (R&I) content
helps improve the scientific quality and societal relevance of the produced
knowledge, technology and/or innovation.
Table 7 shows data on the distribution of women and men in the different groups
comprising BBI JU advisory bodies, expert evaluators (Call 2019) and project coordinators
from all ongoing projects. The data demonstrates that gender balance is at the expected
45 Source for Horizon 2020 SME funding: Horizon 2020 dashboard queried on 13/12/2018.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/projectresults/index.html
46 https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/promoting-gender-equality-research-and-innovation
71
levels with respect to all BBI JU groups, except for the Programme Office, following a
recent restructuring of the team, and of its Governing Board, over which the BBI JU has
no influence.
Name of group
Total
number of
members
Percentage of
women
Percentage of
men
BBI JU Governing Board 10 20% 80%
Scientific Committee 14 60% 40%
States Representatives
Group
31 48% 52%
BBI JU Programme Office 23 70% 30%
Expert-Evaluators Call 2019 140 46% 54%
Project Coordinators 101 44% 56%
Table 7: Percentage of women/men in BBI JU advisory groups, expert groups and project coordinators
Via the ‘continuous reporting’ module of the Funding and Tenders Portal, projects are
requested to report on the gender of researchers and other workforce members involved
in the project. Based on data collated up to 31 December 2019, 10717 female staff are
involved in BBI JU projects, compared to 12389 male staff, resulting in a gender balance
of 46% female – 54% male.
1.3.3. BBI JU project portfolio: BBI JU specific KPIs
MONITORING OF BBI JU SPECIFIC KPIS: PROCESS AND METHODOLOGY
The SIRA 201747 establishes eight specific BBI JU KPIs and their targets by 2020 as listed
in the table 8 below.
KPIs numbering and definition
KPI target
in SIRA
2017
KPI 1 - New cross-sector interconnections in BBI JU projects 36
KPI 2 - New bio-based value chains created with BBI JU projects 10
47 The definition of the KPIs can be found in the SIRA 2017: https://www.bbi-europe.eu/sites/default/files/sira-
2017.pdf
72
KPIs numbering and definition
KPI target
in SIRA
2017
KPI 3 - Number of Grant Agreements signed between BBI JU and the
project consortia 200
KPI 4 - New bio-based building blocks 5
KPI 5 - New bio-based materials 50
KPI 6 - New demonstrated consumer products based on bio-based
chemicals and materials in IA projects 30
KPI 7 - Number of Flagship Grant Agreements signed between the BBI JU
and project consortia 5
KPI 8 - Number of validated technologies that have realised a ‘TRL gain’ of
at least one level in RIA projects 20
Table 8: BBI JU specific KPIs and their targets by 2020 as established in the SIRA 2017.
The BBI JU specific KPIs include both BBI JU project portfolio outputs (KPIs 3 and 7) and
their outcomes (KPIs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8). The SIRA also addresses overall objectives for the
broader socio-economic and environmental impact of the whole sector of the bio-based
industries in Europe.
KPI 3 and KPI 7, respectively the number of BBI JU Grant Agreements (GAs) and number
of BBI JU Flagship GAs, are figures reflecting the status of the BBI JU projects portfolio as
reported at the end of 2019. Their contribution is based on the statistics from the calls’
results.
For the purpose of the monitoring, and in common agreement with EC and BIC, the
monitoring of KPIs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 refers to the results of all BBI JU projects selected
under the BBI JU calls between years 2014 and 2020, whose lifetimes may extend until
2024 or beyond. The results of the ongoing projects refer to expected results by the end
of the project or by 2024 (the earliest date), while the results of the finalised projects refer
to actual results as achieved by the end of the projects.
The annual survey sent to project coordinators aims at gathering information about
the expected results of the BBI JU KPIs and the expected socio-economic and
environmental impacts of BBI JU projects by 2024, or by the end of the project (the earliest
date). This questionnaire requests information on both quantitative and qualitative
aspects of BBI JU KPIs, the expected socio-economic impacts and the contribution to the
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The questionnaire is updated yearly in
collaboration with BIC, EC and BBI JU Advisory Bodies, to ensure that it captures projects’
contributions to the key aspects relating to the development of the bio-based industries
and to current EU and global policies.
73
Coordinators of ongoing projects are requested to report their expected contributions by
the end of the project or by 2024 (the earliest date), and coordinators of finalised projects
are requested to provide information on the actual results at the end of the projects.
The 2019 questionnaire was distributed in September 2019 to 100 BBI JU project
coordinators48 of both ongoing (89) and finalised (11) projects49, and they were requested
to report their contributions by October 2019.
The interpretation of the results provided in this section is based on a critical analysis of
the expected and actual results reported by the coordinators compared with the
definitions and targets set in the SIRA, as well as the feedback obtained from discussions
with a wide group of stakeholders, including DG RTD, DG AGRI, the BBI JU Advisory Bodies,
the Scientific Committee and States Representatives Group, the BBI JU Governing Board,
project beneficiaries, SCAR, FAO working group on the bioeconomy or the OECD, among
others.
A validation of the actual results of projects finishing by April 2020 is underway, and the
analysis will be published by the end of 2020 in the context of a broader study on the BBI
JU project portfolio contribution to the BBI JU programme’s objectives and expected
environmental and socio-economic impacts.
OVERVIEW OF RESULTS
The number of GAs signed by BBI JU (KPI 3) amounts to 101. These projects resulted from
the calls of the first five years (2014 -2018), out of a total of seven years. It corresponds to
a total grant of EUR 599 million out of a total operational budget of EUR 805 million. In
terms of types of action, at the beginning of 2019 the BBI JU project portfolio was
composed of: 9 Flagships, 28 DEMOs, 52 RIAs and 11 CSAs. For more information on the
composition and characterisation of the project portfolio, please see section 1.2.2 of this
report.
The following analysis is based on the feedback received from 91 projects, which
represents an overall response rate of 91%:
Ongoing projects: 82 out of 89, including 8 Flagships, 24 DEMOs, 43 RIAs
and 7 CSAs
48 One BBI JU project was terminated before the end of its duration and it is not considered for this analysis
49 The group of finalised projects considers those that have finalised the whole reporting cycle by September 2019,
that is to say, those that have finalised their activities by July 2019 the latest.
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Finalised projects: 9 out of 11, including 1 Flagship, 1 DEMO, 5 RIAs and 2
CSAs
The overall expected and actual results in 2019 with respect to BBI JU projects’
contributions to KPIs are shown in figure 28.
Figure 28: KPIs expected and actual results reported by projects’ coordinators in 2019 versus targets in the SIRA.
As explained above, KPIs 3 and 7 refer to actual outcomes at the end of 2019 resulting
from Calls 2014 to 2018, and they amount to 100 successful GAs (KPI 3), of which nine
refer to Flagships (KPI 7), “first-of-a-kind" biorefineries in Europe, already surpassing the
initial SIRA target of five Flagships.
In the case of KPIs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8, figure 28 shows the actual results reported from
finalised projects, the expected results reported by ongoing projects and the overall
results of 2019 as the sum of both indicators. The actual results reported for KPI 2- new
bio-based valued chains, and KPI 4- new bio-based building blocks, have already achieved
and exceeded the SIRA targets, while KPIs 1, 5, 6 and 8 are progressing well towards their
objectives.
20
5
30
50
5
200
10
36
5
12
15
9
17
25
42
95
168
77
163
187
47
9
107
183
86
100
180
212
KPI 8-Number of validated technologies that have realised a ‘TRL gain’ of at least one level in RIA projects
KPI 7- Number of flagship grant agreements signed betweenthe BBI JU and project consortia
KPI 6- New demonstrated ‘consumer’ products based on bio-based chemicals and materials in IA projects
KPI 5- New bio-based materials
KPI 4- New bio-based building blocks
KPI 3- Number of grant agreements signed between BBI JUand the project consortia
KPI 2- New bio-based value chains created with BBI projects
KPI 1-New cross-sector interconnections in BBI projects
BBI JU KPIsTarget in the SIRA Actual results Expected results Results of 2019
75
The present section offers an overview of the main conclusions extracted from the
expected results as well as the impacts reported by the projects in 2019. The analysis of
the results regroups the KPIs by area of impact: KPIs 1-2 are indicators of the contribution
to the structuring and mobilising effect, KPIs 4-5-6 refer to the creation of bio-based
products that can replace their fossil-based counterparts and hence contribute to
advancing the transition to a bio-based economy, and KPIs 7-8 show the potential for
upscaling and commercialisation of the developed processes and technologies through
the analysis of the advancement of their technological maturity and the establishment of
“first-of-a-kind” biorefineries in Europe.
STRUCTURING AND MOBILISING EFFECT: KPIS 1 AND 2
The results reported in 2019 confirm the positive trend observed in previous years:
altogether the expected and actual results for the new cross-sector interconnections (KPI
1) and new bio-based value chains (KPI 2) created by BBI JU projects significantly exceed
the SIRA targets. Detailed figures and analyses are provided in the sections below. The
BBI JU projects portfolio is systemically contributing to mobilising new actors and
businesses and, consequently, to structuring the European bio-based industry.
KPI 1: NEW CROSS-SECTOR INTERCONNECTIONS IN BBI JU PROJECTS
This indicator monitors the number of new forms of cooperation in BBI JU value chains. It
refers to cooperation between companies and other actors from different sectors, who
interconnect/cooperate to build new value chains. These interconnections are new in the
sense that the actors have never previously engaged with each other in cooperation or in
a business context in a value chain (even if they have worked together in a completely
different field). The new interconnection/cooperation can concern feedstock, technology,
product markets, regions and business models.
Projects are requested to report the number of new cross-sector interconnections they
generated or expect to generate and to provide a description of each of them, as well as
to indicate the new cross-sector interconnections among sectors in the three segments
of the bio-based value chain: 1. feedstock sourcing, 2. processing and transformation and
3. end users.
Reported results
BBI JU ongoing and finalised projects reported overall 212 expected or actual new cross-
sector interconnections: this is well beyond the initial target of 36 and represents almost
six times the target defined in the SIRA 2017 for the BBI JU projects from Calls 2014-2020.
76
Interestingly, the results from seven finalised projects have confirmed the positive impact
that the BBI JU Initiative has had in mobilising actors in the bio-industry, with an
impressive 25 new cross-sector interconnections (around 80% of the SIRA target) already
created.
Figure 29: KPI 1 - New cross-sector interconnections in BBI JU projects for finalised and ongoing projects
The two finalised DEMO and Flagship projects reported respectively six and seven new
forms of cross-sector cooperation, demonstrating the strong influence of the innovation
actions in stimulating and attracting the participation of new actors in the bio-based
economy. On the other hand, innovation actions cover the whole value chain and
therefore require the involvement of different sectors, from the supply of the biomass to
the final market uptake.
Figures 30, 31, and 32 show the number of expected and actual new interconnections in
the three segments of the bio-based industries value chain: origin of feedstock,
processing and transformation and end users’ sector.
Results are reported from both ongoing and finalised projects. Focusing on finalised
projects, new interconnections are reported for all sources of feedstock except for the
aquatic, and for all categories of processing and transformation, except for fishing and
aquatic technologies, as the aquatic-based sources were only explicitly incorporated as a
new feedstock in the updated version of the SIRA in 2017.
It is remarkable to see how the new expected and actual interconnections involve many
different actors of the European bio-based value chains, showing the multi-sectoral
nature of the bio-based economy: from the food and feed sectors to the automotive, from
packaging to electronics, to name just a few. Therefore, although the BBI JU Initiative was
only launched in 2014, it has played an important role as a catalyst in mobilising key
relevant actors, who are creating the necessary new links across several sectors along
new bio-based value chains.
36
25 187KPI 1 - New cross-sector interconnections in BBI JU projects
BBI JU KPI 1Target in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
77
Figure 30: Expected and actual number of new cross-sector interconnections that involve sectors related to different origins of feedstock
Figure 31: Expected and actual number of new cross-sector interconnections reported that involve different sectors related to processing and transformation
10
6
5
78
63
47
18
42%
33%
25%
8%
Agri-based feedstock
Forest-based feedstock
Bio-waste and CO2
Aquatic feedstock
Number of new cross-sector interconnections involving different sources of feedstock
Reported by finalized projects
Reported by ongoing projects
% of all projects
5
9
3
4
2
76
64
40
28
28
12
38%
34%
20%
15%
14%
6%
Industrial biotechnology (e.g. enzymaticprocesses)
Chemical industry
Food & feed
Paper and pulp
Collection, separation and processing oforganic waste
Fishing and aquatic
Number of new cross-sector interconnections in processing and transformation
Reported by finalized projects
Reported by ongoing projects
% of all projects
78
Figure 32: Expected and actual number of new cross-sector interconnections that involve different end users’ sectors
A table mapping the expected and actual interconnections between feedstock origin and
end users is shown below in Table 9. The colour grading indicates the frequency of
interconnections reported across sectors. The highest number of interconnections is
reported between agriculture and forestry sectors and the packaging and bioplastics end
users. A high number of interconnections is established between the agri-based
feedstock, the personal care and the food and feed ingredients. Considering that the
aquatic feedstock was included in the SIRA only in 2017, this feedstock shows the lowest
number of interconnections and a lesser involvement of end-user sectors: other potential
uses of the aquatic feedstock for the bio-based industries still need to be exploited (e.g.
in the textile and automotive sectors). On the other hand, new cross-sector
interconnections appear more recurrent and robust between all the end users’ sectors
and the feedstock of different origins. These connections signal that the bio-based
resources can replace the non-renewable fossil-based resources in many sectors to
produce bio-based and sustainable products.
2
3
4
7
4
2
3
4
3
1
4
5
4
3
1
1
2
50
46
37
27
25
27
23
20
21
21
17
16
15
13
9
10
6
2
25%
23%
19%
16%
14%
14%
12%
11%
11%
10%
10%
10%
9%
8%
5%
5%
3%
2%
Packaging
Bioplastics
Food ingredients
Personal care & cosmetics
Medical & healthcare
Feed ingredients
Chemicals for agriculture
Biofuels & Bioenergy
Biomaterials
Coatings
Construction and built environment
Adhesives
Automotive
Equipment producers & designers
Pharmaceutical
Textile
Electronics
Home care
Number of new cross-sector interconnections in end users' sectors
Reported by finalized projects
Reported by ongoing projects
% of all projects
79
Table 9: Matrix showing expected and actual cross-sector interconnections between different origins of feedstocks and end users
Examples of new cross-sector interconnections
Agriculture and chemicals for agriculture. In the RIA project BioRescue,
mushroom producers have started a collaboration with research centres
and biopesticide producers (at pilot scale) to produce bio-pesticides; the
DEMO project B-FERST aims at producing fertilisers and bio-stimulants,
starting from agricultural residues, where farmers are directly involved in
the fertiliser manufacturing through modular equipment, to tailor the
solution to their needs.
Forestry sectors and food and feed ingredients. The iFermenter RIA project
has established new interconnections between forestry-based feedstock
and the food and feed sector. Thanks to fermentation processes that can
fully exploit the biomass, antimicrobials as ingredients are produced for
food and feed applications. BIOFOREVER, a DEMO project, aims to produce
- among several new reported interconnections - specialty sugars using
spruce as feedstock, thereby linking the forest sector with the food
industry.
Aquatic sector and pharmaceuticals. The RIA project AQUABIOPRO-FIT aims
to valorise marine side-stream products to produce several ingredients for
human and animal health. Starting from state-of-the-art disease models,
the therapeutic and health-promoting properties of new extracts of
selected ingredients will be assessed within the project.
Colours Code:
Agri-based feedstockForest-based
feedstockAquatic feedstock Bio- waste and CO2
Packaging 24 22 1 11
Medical & healthcare 13 11 5 6
Personal care & cosmetics 22 6 4 5
Home care 0 1 0 0Pharmaceutical 3 1 3 4
Food ingredients 23 6 9 9
Feed ingredients 19 7 4 5
Textile 5 4 0 4
Automotive 9 10 0 5
Construction and built environment 10 13 0 6
Chemicals for agriculture 13 6 0 11
Equipment producers & designers 6 6 1 3
Adhesives 7 11 1 6
Coatings 8 9 2 5
Electronics 2 4 0 2
Biofuels & Bioenergy 17 4 0 9
Bioplastics 22 18 2 14
Biomaterials 13 10 2 6
Other sectors 6 2 0 2
80
Municipal organic waste and bioplastics. In the DEMO project DEEP PURPLE, the pre-
treatment and conversion of urban biowastes into “Purple Phototrophic Bacteria” (PPB)
biomass allows for bioplastics production. PPB biomass is a new type of biomass derived
from the conversion of mixed biowaste streams by existing technologies and an
innovative technology (PPB photobioreactor), representing a novel process which has not
been addressed so far. The project links actors operating in the waste management and
bio-plastics sectors.
KPI 2- NEW BIO-BASED VALUE CHAINS CREATED WITH BBI JU PROJECTS
This indicator monitors the number of new bio-based value chains (from raw materials to
product application) realised within BBI JU projects. A value chain is considered new when
at least one of its segments is new- either the biomass feedstock, the processing, the end
product or its application(s). A new value chain is created when its resulting (new) product
or service has been tested and validated, ready for a specified and accepted market
application (IA projects).
The new value chains are economically viable and fulfil all relevant sustainability criteria,
and each of them has business cases or commercialisation plans (if not already scaled up
to Flagship projects - see KPI 7). These new bio-based value chains can thus result from
innovative cooperation among several economic actors, which combine feedstock with
innovative or traditional technologies and produce new bio-based products or market
applications. They have the potential to be replicated across Europe and beyond, and to
support the development and competitiveness of the European bio-based market and the
creation of new bio-based products. RIA results aim at facilitating or creating a value chain,
but alone they do not cover the whole value chain.
Projects are requested to report the number of expected and actual new bio-based value
chains, including a description of each of them, specifying also their feedstock: agri-based,
forest-based, aquatic or bio-based residues (incl. organic waste) and CO2 from bio-based
operations.
In addition, the questionnaire requests a description of the areas of innovation within the
newly established value chain: feedstock, technologies, markets, supply chain
management.
Reported results
Projects reported the intention to create a total 180 new bio-based value chains by 2024,
of which 17 are actual results from finalised projects and 163 are expected from ongoing
projects. The target defined in the SIRA 2017 was to create 10 new value chains.
81
As mentioned above, the mobilisation of actors throughout all segments of the value
chain is having a knock-on effect in producing systemic and structural changes in the
European bio-based industry; these effects contribute to explaining the higher number of
bio-based value chains than was initially predicted.
This situation leads to a strong conviction that valorising the European feedstocks and
transforming them into high-value products using the bio-based model is the most valid
and reliable path to follow in the transition to a post-petroleum economy.
Figure 33: KPI 2- Expected and actual new bio-based value chains created by BBI JU projects
Originally a linear model was used for predicting the number of new bio-based value
chains, considering a single value chain generated by processing a specific feedstock. The
value chains stemming from the BBI JU projects are the results of non-linear connections
and links, starting from various types of feedstocks, undergoing biorefinery processing
and other industrial bio-technological processes, and ending up with a huge variety of
renewable building blocks, materials and consumer products for a diverse range of
market sectors and applications. The figures below (34 and 35) show two examples of new
value chains generated from the use of forest-based and municipal waste biomass, which
have been reported by BBI JU projects, where each coloured line corresponds to a granted
project.
10
17 163KPI 2 - New bio-based value chains in BBI JU projects
BBI JU KPI 2
Target in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
82
Figure 34 Example of forest-based value chains in BBI JU projects, showing the multiple links between feedstock, processing and bio-based building blocks (KPI 4), materials (KPI 5) and consumer products (KPI 6)
Figure 35 Example of urban-biowaste value chains in BBI JU projects, showing the multiple links between feedstock, processing and bio-based building blocks (KPI 4), materials (KPI 5) and consumer products (KPI 6)
83
When considering the origin of the feedstock, the more conventional agri-based feedstock
still represents the dominant biomass used for the creation of new value chains (Figure
36). Yet an important number of the new bio-based value chains are using biowaste and
CO2 and are transforming it into high value-added industrial products. Finally, the
potential for new value chains from aquatic feedstock and its residues and side-streams
still needs to be unlocked, as they are only used in 13% of the new bio-based value chains.
Figure 36: Percentage of the reported expected and actual new value chains indicating different origin of feedstock
Figure 37 shows the percentage of new bio-based value chains having a specific aspect of
novelty. 69% of new value chains are expected to deliver new products and address new
markets. The use of new technology and the combination of several existing technologies
represent in both cases around 50% of the novelty of new value chains, showing the key
role that technologies play in delivering new value chains. 44% of the value chains
mobilise new sources of feedstock and 42% include a new eco design approach.
13
1
2
61
58
36
24
41%
33%
21%
13%
Agri-based feedstock
Bio-waste and CO2
Forest-based feedstock
Aquatic feedstock
Origin of the feedstock of the new bio-based value chains
Reported by ongoing projects
Reported by finalized projects
% of all projects
84
Figure 37: Percentage of the expected new bio-based value chains reporting a specific aspect of novelty
Examples of new bio-based value chains
The finalised Pulp2Value DEMO project reported the creation of 10 new value chains.
Using an integrated cascading biorefinery system, the project aimed at refining sugar beet
pulp and its conversion into high value products (microcellulose fibers, arabinose and
galacturonic acid). Final applications are in detergents, personal care, oil & gas, paints &
coatings, flavour & food or cosmetics, each new item corresponding to a new value chain.
For instance, new additives isolated from sugar beet pulp for drilling fluids are produced
via an innovative combination of the mechanical, physical and chemical (pre)treatment of
biomass. The concept can be applied to all sugar beet growing regions. The value chain
has been developed through strategic cooperation with service companies for the oil &
gas industry.
In the DEMO project INGREEN, four new value chains are expected to be delivered. The
project aims at producing functional innovative ingredients from paper and agro-food
side-streams through sustainable and efficient tailor-made biotechnological processes for
food, feed, pharma and cosmetics. In one of the new value chains, the waste from wheat
and rye milling will be extracted to make pre-fermented ingredients, which will then be
used to make bakery products and nutraceutical products. Both the use of the milling
waste and the use of the ingredients represent an innovative aspect.
The DEMO project VAMOS aims at demonstrating the feasibility of producing and
valorising second-generation sugars from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). These low-value
44%
22%
51%
50%
69%
24%
42%
39%
28%
27%
21%
New type of biomass
Combining different existing feedstock
Combining different existing technologies
New technologies
New markets/products
Combining different existing markets
New eco design (circularity)
New business models
Vertical integration along the value chain with supliers, end users
Cascading approach
Combining existing business models
Aspects of novelty of the new bio-based value chains
85
residual waste sugars will be utilised in the production of three competitive, sustainable,
affordable and high-performance bio-based products for non-food contact applications.
The model can be replicated in all developed regions globally, with allowance made for
any variations in the characteristics of the MSW feedstock. In total, eight value chains are
expected to be validated by the project (e.g. starting from the organic lignocellulosic
fraction of MSW to bio resins, polymer grade lactic acid (LA), textile grade fibres, packaging
film, and others).
The finalised GreenLight RIA project already set the basis for the creation of one new value
chain. The project converted kraft lignin, the new bio-based raw material, to carbon fibre
using refining technologies. Low cost carbon fibre represents a new market for the
automotive industry.
The BIOSEA RIA project aims at developing and validating innovative, cost-effective and
environmentally friendly processes for the extraction of high value active ingredients for
food, feed and cosmetic/personal care applications, from two microalgae and two
macroalgae, through a biorefinery cascading approach. Two value chains are expected
based on innovative mechanisms (cultivation, extraction, purification, product
formulation and final application in new high-performance products) for obtaining the
maximum profitability from the aquatic biomass.
The newly started Flagship FARMYNG aims at creating the world’s first industrial process
to breed and transform insects into safe proteins and lipids for fish feed and pet food end
markets. As reported by the project, three value chains are expected to be created: 1)
converting the by-products of wheat, corn and barley to fish feed; 2) converting the same
by-products to pet food; 3) valorising insect manure, recovered during insect breeding,
for organic fertiliser production.
TRANSITION TO BIO-BASED ECONOMY: KPIS 4-5-6
KPI 4- NEW BIO-BASED BUILDING BLOCKS BASED ON BIOMASS OF EUROPEAN ORIGIN
The bio-based building blocks are intermediate molecules or chemicals that can be
processed for the production of other chemicals and materials. The building blocks are
classified into three categories according to their level of innovation intensity: (1) those
identical to non-renewable building blocks or so called ‘drop-in’ chemicals that have not
yet been (successfully) made on a (pre)commercial scale , (2) those that perform better
than fossil-based equivalents in comparable applications, and (3) those that are novel,
breakthrough building blocks that have no fossil-based counterparts. The new building
blocks should meet a clear (market) demand and fulfil specific technical requirements, be
economically viable and match all relevant sustainability criteria, as defined in SIRA 2017.
The new building blocks can be developed at TRL 3 and validated at TRL 4-5 in RIA projects,
86
demonstrated at TRL 6-7 in DEMOs or deployed at pre-commercial scale (TRL 8) in
Flagships.
All BBI JU projects are requested to report the number of expected or existing new bio-
based building blocks (if any) together with a description of each of them. They are also
requested to explain the aspects of novelty, such as improvements in the functionality or
performance, reduced production costs or a decrease in the negative impacts on the
environment.
Reported results
As shown in figure 38, the creation of 86 new bio-based building blocks has been
reported by BBI JU projects; in particular, finalised projects reported the creation of nine
new building blocks, which already surpasses the SIRA target of five, while ongoing
projects are expected to create 77 new building blocks by 2024 .
Figure 38: KPI 4- Expected and actual new bio-based building blocks
The SIRA targets, established in the initial SIRA drafted in 2013, were set based on the
building blocks model used in the chemical industry, which is much more mature than the
bio-based industry and widely dominated by a few molecules. On the other hand, the bio-
based industry is more versatile and covers a wide range of chemicals regardless of their
size and structure. Furthermore, the same molecule can be produced from very diverse
feedstocks, using different processing technologies, thereby resulting in building blocks
that are considered different, as they display different aspects of novelty.
In figure 39, the percentages of the new building blocks per level of innovation intensity
have been reported.
5
9 77KPI 4- New bio-based building blocks
BBI JU KPI 4
Target in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
87
Figure 39: Percentages of new bio-based building blocks and their innovation intensity
The analysis shows that 46% of the reported new building blocks are breakthrough with
no fossil-based counterparts; an example is represented by FDCA that can be used to
make PEF (polyethylene furonoate), a 100% bio-based polyester. On the other hand, 20%
of the new reported building blocks demonstrate a better performance compared to their
fossil-based equivalents, such as aminated β glycans, which are further converted into
biodegradable polymers for food, cosmetics and medical device packaging. 32% are
identical to non-renewable building blocks but are produced in a more sustainable way;
among these are ethylene and isobutylene, which can be used either as chemicals or to
produce lubricants, adhesives, flavours and fragrances.
The new building blocks are classified according to their aspects of novelty, which are
related to the composition of the feedstock and the environmental, economic and
product performance (Figure 40).
5
1
3
35
16
24
46%
20%
32%
breakthrough building block that has no fossil-basedcounterparts
better performance than fossil-based counterparts incomparable applications
identical to non-renewable building blocks and have not(successfully) been made on (pre)commercial scale yet
Innovation intensity of the building blocks
Reported by finalized projects Reported by ongoing projects % of all projects
88
Figure 40: Percentages of new bio-based building blocks addressing different aspects of novelty: feedstock (yellow), environmental (light green), economic (dark green) and product performance (blue).
The results indicate that the main novelty aspect of the reported building blocks is related
to the environmental performance and in particular that their production contributes to
decreasing the utilisation of CO2 and/or other GHG emissions as well as to optimise
energy consumption. Other environmental aspects such as water use, land use and
biodiversity preservation are reported by a small number of projects.
Regarding the characteristics of the products, the projects reported an improvement of
the new building blocks in terms of their structure as well as in the biodegradability and
recyclability aspects.
KPI 5: NEW BIO-BASED MATERIALS
The new bio-based materials are produced from biomass resources through sustainable
processes. These materials are expected to display at least equal or overall better
sustainability aspects compared to their fossil-based counterparts, assessed through a
detailed LCA analysis. Moreover, they are expected toshow improvements in material
efficiency, biodegradability, recyclability or other functionalities. The new bio-based
materials also need to meet a clear market demand and fulfil all technical requirements,
have a proven economic viability and match all relevant sustainability criteria. The
89
newness can be in the selection of a particular biomass, in the integration of a novel
technology for the material production or in the development of a specific product that
will replace the fossil-based materials. The new bio-based materials can be developed at
TRL 3 and validated at TRL 4-5 in RIA projects, demonstrated at TRL 6-7 in DEMOs or
deployed at pre-commercial scale (TRL 8) in Flagships.
Reported results
As reported in figure 50, the creation of 183 new bio-based materials has been reported
by BBI JU projects; in particular, ongoing projects are expected to create 168 new
materials by 2024 while finalised projects already reported the creation of 15 new
materials compared to the defined target of 50 in the SIRA.
Figure 50: KPI 5- Expected and actual new bio-based materials
Altogether, the number of actual and expected new bio-based materials already
substantially exceeds the SIRA target of 50 new bio-based materials. There are several
factors contributing to the high number of expected new bio-based materials, such as the
diversity of aspects to be considered in assessing a bio-based material as new. In this way,
the same type of material can be reported by different projects, each of them involving
different aspects which differentiate them one from the other. For example, in one
project, the newness relies on the use of new technologies while in another project the
novelty aspect is the use of a different feedstock.
Figure 51 presents the percentages of new bio-based materials at each of the three levels
of innovation intensity described among the new bio-based materials reported by
ongoing and finalised projects. As shown, 38% of the 183 new bio-based materials are
‘drop-in’, 28% have a better performance than fossil-based equivalents in comparable
applications and 26% of the products are, or are expected to be, breakthrough bio-based
materials.
50
15 168KPI 5- New bio-based materials
BBI JU KPI 5
Target in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
90
Figure 51: Percentages of new bio-based materials and their innovation intensity.
Some examples of new bio-based materials reported by ongoing and finalised projects
are reported below:
AgriChemWhey (ongoing Flagship): the project proposes an integrated
biorefinery to convert food dairy processing residues into added value
products, such as bio-based Lactic Acid (LA) and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), which
are used for the manufacture of recyclable bottles and packaging films.
Greenlight (finalised RIA): is demonstrating the vailability of the conversion
of lignin, a 100% renewable raw material, into Carbon Fibres (CFs) and CF
lighter composites for the automotive sector.
First2Run (finalised Flagship): demonstrates the sustainability and
profitability of an integrated biorefinery for the extraction of vegetable oils
from crops grown in marginal lands and their conversion into building
blocks. Thanks to the proposed process, biodegradable plastics have been
produced for a further application in the lubrificant, plastic and cosmetics
industries.
Dendromass4Europe (ongoing DEMO): establishes a Short Rotation
Coppice system for the production of dendromass and its conversion into
wood and bark-enriched - Wood Plastic Composite (WPC). The WPC will
partIally replace the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) as a material used in the
furniture industry, reducing the input cost and the flammability of the final
products.
WoodyZymes (ongoing RIA): lignin-based polyols will be used in the
substitution of over 50% of oil-based polyols as components of
Polyurethane (PU) insulation materials, maintaining the high performance
of the final product. The lignin-polyols' intrinsic flame-retardant property
3
6
4
45
45
65
26%
28%
38%
breakthrough material that has no fossil-based counterparts
better performance than fossil-based counterparts in comparableapplications
identical to non-renewable materials and have not (successfully)been made on (pre)commercial scale yet
Innovation intensity of the new bio-based materials
Reported by finalized projects Reported byongoing projects % of all projects
91
will avoid the addition of harmful flame retardants in the PU foam
manufacture.
The new materials are classified according to their aspects of novelty (Figure 52).
Figure 52: Percentages of new bio-based materials addressing different aspects of novelty: feedstock (yellow), environmental (light green), economic (dark green) and product performance (blue).
The most reported aspects of novelty in the new bio-based materials are the
environmental aspects. In a similar ratio to the building blocks, the production of 76% of
the new materials is expected to contribute to a reduction of CO2 and other GHG
emissions.
More than 30% of the new bio-based materials is novel with respect to the optimisation
of energy consumption and a decrease in the production input costs. Moreover,
enhanced performances at the level of biodegradability, recyclability, health and safety
aspects are also reported by a consistent number of BBI JU projects. This indicates that
the trend of the portfolio is directed towards improving the product performance and
enlarging the portfolio of ‘green label’ materials and chemicals.
KPI 6: NEW BIO-BASED CONSUMER PRODUCTS
92
New bio-based consumer products (such as materials, chemicals, surfactants,
biopolymers in packaging industries, additives in cosmetics, food and feed applications,
fibres used in textile etc..) are expected to have a better overall sustainability capacity than
their current alternatives. This is mainly due to improved material efficiency, reduced GHG
emissions, higher biodegradability, recyclability or other effects during their use or reuse.
The bio-based ‘consumer products’ meet a clear market demand and fulfil specific
technical requirements, are economically viable and match all relevant sustainability
criteria. KPI 6 targets products that are demonstrated at TRLs 6-7 (DEMOs) and TRL 8
(Flagships).
Reported results
Overall, the creation of 107 new bio-based consumer products has been reported by
BBI JU’s projects (DEMOs and Flagships); in particular, ongoing projects are expected to
create 95 consumer products by 2024 while finalised projects already reported the
creation of 12 consumer products, which represent 40% of the SIRA target (Figure 53).
Figure 53: KPI 6- Expected and actual new bio-based consumer products (only for IAs)
The new bio-based products delivered by each project address diverse aspects of novelty,
according to their different characteristics. Although several projects address the same
type of product (e.g. bio-based food packaging), the different feedstock types used and
the technology or the final functionalities make each of these products unique. The main
aspects of novelty of the new bio-based consumer products are presented in figure 54.
30
12 95KPI 6- New demonstrated ‘consumer’ products based on bio-
based chemicals and materials in IA projects
BBI JU KPI 6
Target by 2020 in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
93
Figure 54: Percentages of new bio-based consumer products addressing different aspects of novelty: feedstock (yellow), environmental (light green), economic (dark green) and product performance (blue).
As for the previous KPIs, the most reported environmental aspects are the reduction of
CO2 and the GHG emission reduction, followed by energy consumption and land use
reduction as well as an increase in the water resource efficiency. Overall, an improved
product performance has been reported for the new consumer bio-products compared
to their fossil counterparts; in particular, more than 30% perform better in terms of
biodegradability, recyclability or a combination of all these aspects. On the other hand,
the most relevant economical aspects are the decrease of input costs and the
improvements in processing aspects related to the conversion and extraction phases.
Some examples of new consumer products reported by finalised and ongoing projects
are listed below:
First2Run (finalised Flagship): the project demonstrated the processing of
underutilised crops (i.e. cardoon) into bio-monomers esters further
transformed into high-value products, such as biodegradable rinse-off and
leave-on bio-based cosmetics, biodegradable mulching films and bioplastic
shoppers.
SWEETWOODS (ongoing Flagship): SWEETWOODS developed a first-of-a-
kind biofractionation Flagship plant in Estonia using sustainable hardwood
94
biomass that can be converted into high-value biomaterials. The project is
expecting to produce several new consumer products such as insulation
foams and panels for construction materials, plastic parts for loudspeakers,
earphones, isobutene derivatives for cosmetics, sport mats, paint
producers.
FARMYNG (ongoing Flagship): FARMYNG process aims at producing safe
proteins from breeding insects and transform them into animal nutrition
sources on an industrial and automated scale. The project is expecting to
produce insect-based meals and oils for both fish feed and pet food as well
as insect-based organic fertilisers for soil.
Pulp2Value (finalised DEMO): the project developed a cascading
biorefinery system to refine sugar beet pulp and convert it into added value
products such as Microcellulose fibers (MFCs). MFCs are used for several
applications such as the production of detergents, coatings, adhesives,
personal care and food products.
EMBRACED (ongoing DEMO): EMBRACED developed an innovative process
for the valorisation of Post-Consumers Absorbent Hygiene Products (AHPs)
waste into bio-based building blocks and polymers. One of the applications
of the bioplastics produced within the project is represented by the
packaging of the AHPs, which will close a loop and promote a circular
bioeconomy.
FRESH (ongoing DEMO): is contributing to KPI 6 through the production of
packaging composite materials, which are fully bio-based and
biodegradable. These materials are cellulose-based alternatives to the
existing fossil-based PET/CPET and are used to produce innovative ready-
meal trays.
TOWARDS COMMERCIALISATION: UPSCALING, DEPLOYMENT AND INCREASING TECHNOLOGICAL MATURITY: KPIS 7-8
KPI 7: BBI JU FLAGSHIP PROJECTS
This indicator monitors the number of Flagship projects funded by the BBI JU.
Since the launch of the BBI JU Initiative, nine Flagship projects have been funded
representing 80% more than the initial target of SIRA 2017 of five Flagships. The
biorefineries, at the very heart of the Flagships, are well spread across Europe, in both the
European Member States and associated countries. In fact, the bio-industry plants are
95
located (already realised or in the process of being built) in Norway, Ireland, Belgium,
Slovakia, Italy, Romania, Estonia and France.
Figure 55: KPI 7- Number of BBI JU Flagships
The Flagships process different agri-based and forest-based feedstocks, such as
agricultural residues, dedicated crops in underutilised lands, side-streams from the dairy
industry, spruce wood pulp, etc. to deliver new chemicals, materials and ingredients.
These bio-based chemicals and materials can be used for applications in a wide range of
sectors, such as bioplastics, lubricants, cosmetics, adhesives, paintings, packaging
materials and second-generation biofuels, among others, thereby producing added value
bio-based products that have improved functionalities compared to their fossil-based
alternatives. The ingredients (such as proteins) will find application in the food and feed
sectors.
BBI JU Flagships are mobilising significant additional investments in facilities for the
deployment of biorefineries in Europe. The funding from BBI JU is around EUR 195 million
and based on a survey conducted by BBI JU programme office on each individual Flagship,
in total, the nine Flagships are expected to trigger around EUR 1.2 billion of additional
private investment, and to generate more than 3,300 direct jobs and more than 10,000
indirect ones, most of them in rural areas.
Flagships play a crucial role in the integration and deployment of demonstrated
technologies and processes for the sustainable and efficient transformation of biomass
in Europe. The setting-up of pre-commercial biorefineries in Europe results in a strong
positive socio-economic impact and contributes to the creation of jobs, the diversification
and income growth of primary producers, rural development, and reindustrialisation in
depressed areas. They also play an important role in environmental impact, contributing
to the mitigation of climate change. Further information on the socio-economic and
environmental impact of the BBI JU projects is presented in section 1.3.
The nine Flagships are the following:
5
1 8KPI 7- Number of flagship grant agreements signed
between the BBI JU and project consortia
BBI JU KPI 7
Target in the SIRA Finalised Flagships Ongoing Flagships
96
FIRST2RUN (finalised): this biorefinery, located in Italy (Sardinia),
demonstrates the techno-economic and environmental sustainability, at
industrial scale, of an integrated biorefinery, in which oil crops grown in arid
and marginal lands are valorised for the extraction of vegetable oils. These
oils will be further converted into bio-monomers as building blocks for high
added value bioproducts, such as biolubricants, cosmetics, bioplastics,
pesticides and additives, through the integration of chemical and biotech
processes. By-products from the process will be valorised and used to
produce energy and animal feed.
EXILVA: integrated plant located in Norway for the large-scale supply and
market assessment of Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC). By enhancing the
rheological properties and replacing fossil-based compounds, the MFC has
a huge potential to be used in a wide range of applications, such as home
and personal care products, adhesives, construction materials, paints and
coatings, among others. The use of MFC in these applications will both
improve their functionalities and reduce the carbon footprint in relation to
their fossil-based alternatives. The project targets the development of at
least 10 new (or optimised) bio-based products by 2020.
BIOSKOH: this is a biorefinery located in Slovakia producing second-
generation bioethanol in Europe. This biorefinery uses agricultural residues
biomass to produce cellulosic bioethanol with a yield 15 – 20% higher than
current state-of-the-art processing. The ethanol can be used as biofuel or
be further transformed into different chemical building blocks like ethylene.
The project will use a brownfield site, thus minimising capital expenditure
as compared to greenfield sites.
LIGNOFLAG: commercial Flagship plant located in Romania for cellulosic
second-generation bioethanol production involving a bio-based value chain
built on lignocellulosic feedstock from a brownfield site. The project is
expected to build and operate a commercial Flagship to convert
lignocellulosic feedstock into cellulosic bioethanol, to be used as a
sustainable transport fuel or a chemical building block.
PEFerence: biorefinery Flagship plant located in Belgium producing FDCA
(furan dicarboxylic acid), a bio-based building block that can be used to
make PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF is a 100% bio-based polyester with
excellent gas barrier properties, used to produce packaging, films and
fibres, as well as to make a wide range of chemicals and polymers such as
polyesters, polyamides, coating resins and plasticisers. The participation of
brand owners such as LEGO and NESTEC confirms the high potential for
97
applications in consumer products. PEFerence aims to replace a significant
share of fossil-based polyesters, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET),
and packaging materials like glass and metal, with 100% bio-based furanics
polyesters.
AgriChemWhey: first-of-a-kind, industrial-scale biorefinery located in
Ireland, with integrated industrial and agricultural value chains to valorise
whey permeate and de-lactosed whey permeate, side-streams of the dairy-
processing industry. These side-streams will be transformed into several
added value products, including lactic acid to produce PLA (polylactic acid),
minerals for human nutrition and bio-based fertilisers.
SWEETWOODS: first-of-a-kind Flagship biorefinery in Estonia for the
processing of sugars and lignin from hardwood biomass. The process
combines innovative pre-treatment technology with enzymatic solutions to
produce sugars recovery levels of over 90% with exceptionally high-quality
lignin. Sugars and lignin can be further processed and converted to high-
value biomaterials capable of replacing fossil-based chemicals in a wide
range of products.
PLENITUDE: first-of-a-kind plant for large-scale production of proteins for
food applications from alternative, sustainable sources using a zero-waste
approach. The Flagship, located in Belgium, will use crop feedstock to
produce food-grade proteins sustainably by integrating an aerobic
fermentation plant with a conventional first-generation biorefinery. It is
also considered as more cost effective than any of the emerging plant-
based proteins and it is expected to improve the efficiency of the translation
of crops to protein. This will generate significant new income for bioethanol
refinery operators at a relatively low capital cost.
FARMYNG: this first-of-a-kind industrial plant, located in France, aims at
safely and efficiently producing protein sources from insect-breeding for
animal nutrition. Insects will be used as an alternative source of protein-
rich ingredients for feed and pet food. Insects multiply rapidly and are
highly effective in converting organic matter from vegetal by-products. The
solution proposed by the FARMYNG project displays several benefits,
including environmental ones; in fact, insects also emit less greenhouse
gases and ammonia and use less water and land than other animal protein
value chains.
KPI 8: TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL (TRL) GAIN
98
This indicator monitors the validated improved technologies that have realised a ‘TRL
gain’, filling gaps in value chains and enabling new chemical building blocks, new
materials, new consumer products or new applications. The KPI target in the SIRA 2017 is
only defined for RIAs. The expected ending TRL for core technologies for RIAs is expected
to be 5 - “Technology validated in relevant environment”. However, the ongoing DEMOs
and Flagships have been requested to report on the expected TRL gain as well.
Reported results
Ongoing and finalised RIA projects together reported a TRL gain of at least one level for
47 key technologies against the target of 20 in the SIRA 2017: an increase in the maturity
of five core technologies was achieved by the finalised RIAs, while the ongoing RIA projects
reported an advancement in the TRL scale for 42 technologies.
Figure 56: KPI 8 - Expected and actual number of validated technologies that have realised a TRL gain (RIAs)
For all RIA projects (ongoing and finalised), the figure 57 shows that the majority (57%)
expect to progress two levels in the maturity of their technology (in general from TRL 3 -
experimental proof of concept, to TRL 5 - validation of the technology). Six projects report
a gain of only one level, from TRL 4 - technology validated in lab, to 5, while 14 projects
report a TRL advancement of at least three levels, from TRL 2 - technology concept
formulated, to 5. This assessment mirrors the positioning of the BBI JU RIAs at the
beginning of their projects, many of them (around 87%) already starting at TRL 2 and 3.
20
5 42KPI 8-Number of validated technologies that have
realised a ‘TRL gain’ of at least one level in RIA projects
BBI JU KPI 8
Target in the SIRA Actual results from finalised projects Expected results from ongoing projects
99
Figure 57: Number of technologies reporting a TRL gain of one, two or three levels in RIAs
Figure 58 shows the number of IAs, DEMOs and Flagships projects reporting an
advancement in the readiness level of their core technologies. By 2024, 25 projects
(almost ¾ of the total) expect to have a TRL improvement of two levels. Once again, this
outcome reflects the “entry point” of the technology and process within IAs, which is very
high (at least five for DEMOs and six - technology demonstrated in relevant environment
- for Flagships).
Overall, the BBI JU Initiative provides opportunities for the development of processes and
technologies ranging from the low level of maturity common to research projects to the
higher levels seen in IAs where they are ready and qualified for their implementation and
deployment.
Figure 58: Number of technologies reporting a TRL gain of one, two or three levels in IAs.
Examples of technologies and processes experiencing TRL gains in RIAs
SusBind: the project starts from existing industrial feedstock and is
supposed to deliver a bio-based binder for industrial existing applications.
The starting TRL is around 2. Novel biochemical processes (such as
enzymatic epoxidation) have the potential to be more environmentally
sound. These will first be established at lab scale (TRL 4) and then at pilot
scale to TRL5. The resulting resin will be converted to a binder system also
6 27 14Total numebr of main technologies with TRL progress
TRL progress in the main technologies in RIAs
TRL progress (main tech)= 1 TRL progress (main tech)= 2 TRL progress (main tech)= 3 or more
4 25 5Total numebr of main technologies with TRL progress
TRL progress in the main technologies in IAs
TRL progress (main tech)= 1 TRL progress (main tech)= 2 TRL progress (main tech)= 3 or more
100
at TRL 5 and then be used for the pilot production of Particle Board and
Medium Density Fibreboard, for testing by both the board production
companies and then by Ikea, who apply furniture laminations, build small
prototypes and publish the results.
BioSmart: one of the main project objectives is to scale-up the existing
laboratory-level active and smart functionality technologies at TRL 3 to TRL
5 for enhanced package performance. Yet, the project aims to provide an
intelligent packaging system, with sensors included in the packages for a
100% control of food and food-processing quality.
SmartLi: the project started at TRL 3 and worked on the development of
lignin fractionation to produce sulphur-free lignin fractions with constant
properties, to produce biomaterials tailored for different applications. This
RIA project has already ended and developed a business plan for a
demonstration scale.
NeoCel: the project started at TRL 3 and developed technologies that have
been verified at a large bench scale, and the whole value chain has been
validated at an industrially relevant scale (TRL 5). The textile fibres produced
with the novel processing technologies will be tested against state-of-the-
art viscose fibres produced from the same raw material, in target fabrics
and in final garments.
1.3.4. Monitoring the contribution to the expected environmental and socio-economic impacts of projects
The annual questionnaire sent out to project coordinators contains a section dedicated
to the expected contributions of projects by 2024, to different social, economic and
environmental impacts as set out in the SIRA 2017, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The socio-economic impacts cover, for example, markets and industry, the creation of
jobs and primary producers and rural development. The environmental impact includes
reduction of GHG emissions, waste reduction, reuse, recycling or valorisation, water and
energy efficiency, land use and biodiversity.
In addition, the analysis addresses other impacts, such as contributions to science and
knowledge and to education, citizens’ understanding of the bio-based economy, the
101
creation of safer processes and healthier products, or the development of policies,
regulations and standards.
Projects are requested to provide a qualitative description of their contributions, as well
as quantitative information, if available. The percentages provided throughout this
section refer to the total number of projects responding to the questionnaire (91). The
monitoring and analysis follow the same methodology as the one described for the BBI
JU specific KPIs (see section 1.1.1). Therefore, the results presented below include the
expected results reported by ongoing projects (82 responses out of 89) and the actual
results reported by finalised projects (9 responses out of 11).
JOB CREATION
Overall, a large percentage of projects (82%) report some kind of contribution to the
creation of new jobs (figure 59). Among them, 70% of the projects expect to contribute to
job creation in product development and engineering, while 54 % of the projects expect
to create jobs in rural regions and 8% in coastal regions. The impact on job creation is
especially important for Flagship projects, which estimate direct job creation in the range
of 30-200 jobs and potentially thousands (1000- 4000) of long-term indirect jobs for each
biorefinery.
Figure 59: Number of projects reporting job creation in rural and coastal regions and in the area of product development and engineering, for different types of actions, as well as the overall percentage of projects creating jobs in these categories.
Examples
Biorefineries aiming at the sustainable production of proteins play an increasingly
important role in the creation of jobs, especially in rural areas:
6
6
5
1
69
58
44
6
82%
70%
54%
8%
total new jobs
in the product development and engineering
in rural regions
in coastal regions
Creation of jobsProjects reporting impact in these areas
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
102
PLENITUDE Flagship produces food-grade proteins from sustainable cereal crops by
integrating an aerobic fermentation plant with a conventional first-generation process. It
is expected to create 200 direct and indirect jobs in the region already at the initial scale
of production, which could increase up to around 3000 new jobs in the longer term.
FARMYNG Flagship uses mealworms fed with vegetable by-products as a source of
proteins for animal feed, developing a model that it is easily replicable. It is estimated that
the establishment of six factories of that kind in the next 10 years would deliver 300 direct
jobs and 1000 indirect jobs.
The transformation of residues from forestry, agriculture and farming represent an
important source of employment in Europe:
AgriChemWhey, FIRST2RUN and SWEETWOODS Flagship projects will produce bio-based
chemicals for diverse market applications through the processing of residues from the
dairy industry, marginal land crops and wood-based sugars, respectively, which are widely
available and underutilised across Europe. For example, AgriChemWhey is expected to
create around 1000 jobs in the next four years.
BIOSKOH and LIGNOFLAG Flagship projects produce second-generation bioethanol from
agricultural residues, which in addition to being used as biofuel, can be further
transformed in bio-based building blocks for different applications, thereby contributing
to the creation of jobs in rural areas. BIOSKOH expects the creation of 160 direct and 500
indirect jobs, from feedstock production and processing, supply chain logistics to
bioethanol production and side-stream valorisation.
The contribution to jobs creation in coastal areas is reported mainly by projects using
marine biomass and integrating actors from the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. For
example, AQUABIOPROFIT RIA project, which uses side-streams from fisheries and
aquaculture for the production of nutritional and health products, reports the creation of
16 direct jobs.
Among the already finalised projects, FIRST2RUN Flagship reports contributing to the
creation of 60 new skilled jobs for every 1kton of produced bioplastics, of which 5% are in
R&D, 20% in building blocks production, 15% in polymers/bioplastics production, 25% in
the agricultural sector and 35% in composting. PULP2VALUE DEMO project, which uses
low value sugar beet pulp to produce added value products, reports to have created at
least 70 new jobs related to the harvesting, collection, transport and storage of feedstock
and to the processing of products.
IMPACT ON PRIMARY PRODUCERS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
103
Primary producers, including those related to forestry, agriculture and fisheries and
aquaculture, play a decisive role in the development of the bio-based industries, ranging
from the provision of the feedstock, to the consolidation of sustainable local bio-based
value chains and inclusive business models that incentivise the modernisation of the
primary sector and the diversification of its sources of income.
As shown in figure 60, nearly one third of the total projects expects to contribute to the
diversification of the sources of income of primary producers, while at least one fifth of
the projects reports a contribution to the creation of stable and transparent relations with
primary producers, including them as partners in the projects and involving them in the
decision-making processes.
Figure 60: Number of projects reporting different types of impact on primary producers and rural development, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these areas
It should also be noted that several BBI JU projects are dealing with the transformation of
municipal solid waste, wastewater and organic side-streams of industrial processes,
which do not directly involve primary producers, and this partially explains why the
reported impact on primary producers and rural impact is no higher than a third of the
2
2
1
1
27
19
19
16
14
5
2
1
32%
23%
22%
19%
15%
5%
2%
1%
The project allows primary producers to diversify their incomesources
The project allows the establishment of stable and transparent (tocontracting sides) relationships with primary producers
Primary producers are partners in the project
In the project, the primary producers are involved in decision-making
The new value chain(s) established in the project increase(s)agricultural diversity
The new value chain(s) established in the project interfere(s) withpreviously existing value chains
The new value chain(s) established in the project reduce(s)agricultural diversity
The new plant(s) (any industrial facility established in the project)deteriorate(s) living conditions or landscape (aesthetic, noise,
odours, etc.)
Impact on primary producers and rural developmentProjects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
104
respondents. Please see the section below on a BBI JU study dedicated to an in-depth
analysis of the participation of the agricultural sector in BBI JU projects.
Examples
B-FERST DEMO project aims at valorising biowaste to produce different bio-based
fertilisers, and their integration into sustainable agriculture management plans. These
include long-term contracts between farmers and fertiliser companies, which are
necessary to ensure the supply and logistics of the new raw materials. As a result, farmers
will secure additional income sources resulting from the recycling of biowastes into
fertilisers. In addition, the International Advisory Board, which includes farmers’
associations, will participate in the validation tests at the demo sites.
Dendromass4Europe DEMO project’s main objective is to establish Short-Rotation
Coppice (SRC), a sustainable regional cropping system for agricultural dendromass
production on at least 2500 ha of marginal land, which will also contribute to the
production of new bio-based materials. This project promotes different types of long-term
contracts with primary producers, which will result in additional income and new jobs for
farmers and rural landowners.
EFFORTE and TECH4EEFFECT RIA projects work to improve the sustainability and
efficiency of forest management and wood procurement, through the development of
tools and applications. Both projects include forest owners and operators as beneficiaries
and involve them in the decision-making process and in the development, testing and
validation of tools, thereby ensuring that their knowledge, interests and needs are taken
into consideration in the development of forest management solutions.
FIRST2RUN Flagship, which is already finalised, has worked on the processing of crops
from underutilised lands (around 3000 ha), such as cardoon, grown on arid and
marginal lands, which are exploited for the extraction of vegetable oils, to be further
converted into bio-products such as bioplastics, cosmetics and lubricants. FIRST2RUN has
put in place a business model that fully includes farmers, not only as biomass providers
but also as a strategic partner in the whole integrated agro-industrial value chain.
Contracts have been signed with approximately 270 farmers, who have the opportunity
to develop innovative business models and spur the creation of new value chains. Project
innovations have been developed in close cooperation with them and various
roundtables and training sessions have been organised in the project to set up a low-input
protocol for cardoon cultivation in marginal areas, targeting the reduction of water use
and fertilisers. In addition, agronomic best practices are transferred to farmers via
workshops, training, direct meetings and seminars.
105
Study on the participation of the agricultural sector in BBI JU
The BBI JU has an important potential to support the agricultural sector and contribute to
rural development, providing new and diversified incomes to farmers as well as creating
highly skilled jobs, and these are part of the BBI JU priorities. Agro-based value chains are
a core part of the value chains envisioned in the SIRA.
However, the Governing Board identified in 201850 that there were still some questions
concerning the agricultural sector’s participation in the BBI JU Initiative as well as the
extent of the actual impact on the agricultural sector and rural development. This is why
in 2019, BBI JU, in collaboration with BIC and the EC, commissioned a study entitled
“participation of the agricultural sector in the BBI JU: business models, challenges and
recommendations to enhance the impact on rural development”. Its ultimate goals were
i) to contribute to enhancing and consolidating the participation of the European
agricultural primary sector in the bio-based sector and its value chains, enabling it to enjoy
the resulting benefits, and ii) to maximise the positive impact of the BBI JU on rural
development.
The study was carried out between April and August 2019, and its analysis was based on
input from relevant actors sourced through several different media actions: surveys, in-
depth interviews, a focus group meeting with experts from the bioeconomy across
Europe, and various related EU networks and initiatives related (EIP-AGRI, ENRD Thematic
Group on Bioeconomy51, BIOEAST52, AGROinLOG53). A task force composed of members
of the European Commission (DG RTD and DG AGRI), BIC and BBI JU was responsible for
following up the preparation and implementation of the study.
The study provided a detailed assessment of the agricultural sector’s presence in the BBI
JU portfolio, and identified the many challenges faced by the sector in participating in the
bio-based sector and its value chains and benefiting from its participation in EU funded
projects. A set of innovative business models was also analysed, and these provided
several ideas for successful methods of fostering agricultural producers to participate
with a meaningful role in the bio-based sector. Moreover, the study also delivered 28
recommendations addressed to BBI JU, BIC and EC, to improve the participation of the
agricultural primary sector in BBI JU projects (both in numbers and relevance). It is
50 BBI JU Governing Board Decision 1806-08: BBI JU to lead a Task Force, to undertake a detailed assessment of
the participation of the primary sector in the BBI portfolio, and to identify challenges, best practices and actions to enhance the impact of BBI JU actions on rural development. DG AGRI and DG RTD to participate in the task force.
51 https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/enrd-thematic-work/greening-rural-economy/bioeconomy_en
52 https://bioeast.eu/
53 http://agroinlog-h2020.eu/en/home/
106
expected that the implementation of these recommendations should also contribute
generally to further enhancing and consolidating the agricultural primary sector’s
participation in the bio-based sector and its value chains.
In order to implement the 28 recommendations, the above-mentioned task force also
prepared an Action Plan prioritising the recommendations in a coherent and effective
way. The Action Plan was endorsed by the Governing Board on 4 December 2019.
Both the Study and the Action Plan are published on the BBI JU website54.
REGIONAL AND LOCAL IMPACT
The local and regional impact in the context of the bio-based economy refers to socio-
economic and environmental benefits that result from the “deployment of local
biorefineries in Europe”, as described in the EU Bioeconomy strategy 2018. The EU bio-
based economy brings vast potential for rural, coastal, and urban areas development,
which can be realised through the creation of new bio-based value chains and the
deployment of local biorefineries that source the biomass sustainably and locally, valorize
organic sides streams and residues, diversify primary producers income and involve local
actors in its design and implementation. BBI JU projects are based on concepts that
guarantee a sustainable sourcing of biomass, and that can be deployed making use of
local and regional resources. In this context, nearly half of the projects (45%) reports the
reutilisation of local residues and synergies with regional initiatives (figure 61). In addition,
around 40% of the respondents reports to be supporting regional development and
diversifying the local economy, involving local associations and stakeholders. Moreover,
more than one quarter of the projects reports having established a collaboration with the
local administration, with 15% making a contribution to reindustrialisation or
reconversion in their regions, and to the valorisation of unexploited marginal land.
54 Study on the participation of the agricultural sector in BBI JU, which can be found here: https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/news/new-study-out-participation-agricultural-sector-bbi-ju
107
Figure 61: Number of projects reporting different types of regional and local impact, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these areas
Examples
The important positive impact of the bio-based industries in local and regional rural areas
has already been partially illustrated in the previous sections dealing with job creation in
rural areas and benefits to primary producers and rural development.
Dendromass4Europe project aims at establishing a sustainable, Short Rotation Coppice
(SRC) based regional cropping system for dendromass production on marginal land,
which increases the “industry-agriculture” cooperation across regions and countries
between neighboured regions of eastern Central Europe. The nearly 2.500 ha of newly
established SRC on marginal land creates a new biomass resource that will also persist
after finalizing the project. By means of SRC, used as a new extensively managed perennial
crop, the project is supporting the regional development, creating new business
opportunities for the rural agricultural sector in a specific area of Slovakia (production site
in Malacky, West Slovakia). Moreover, the consortium includes a large Slovak NGO for the
nature conservation, which is promoting the protection of the Slovak living environment
as well as the industrial- development of the country.
GRACE project is exploring the potential of the non-food industrial crops, such as
Miscanthus, used as a raw material for the contribution to the growing of the European
Bioeconomy. The cultivation of these relatively under-exploited crops on marginal and
contaminated land, is greatly contributing to the valorisation and reindustrialisation of
abandoned area in Croatia. All necessary permits for the Miscanthus cultivation as a
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
3
38
38
34
33
29
22
13
10
45%
45%
41%
40%
35%
27%
15%
14%
Synergies with regional initiatives
Reutilization of local residues
Support the regional development by diversifying thelocal economy
Involvement of local associations/ stakeholders
Mobilization of local resources
Colaboration with local administration
Reindustrialization or reconversion
Valorization of unexploited marginal land
Regional and local impact Projects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
108
foreign species in the Croatian region, required a cooperation with the Ministries of
environment and agriculture, which highlights the need of collaboration between the
consortium and the local administration actors.
In addition to the impact on rural communities, biorefinery operations also have
significant potential to improve urban economies and waste management models,
e.g. by fostering the valorisation of urban biowaste and MSW. The establishment of these
biorefineries requires a strong collaboration with municipalities and local authorities, as
well as other local stakeholders. Examples of projects converting urban waste and
OFMSW into high added value chemicals and materials and working in close cooperation
with local actors and citizens, are VAMOS, PERCAL, URBIOFIN and EMBRACED.
VAMOS DEMO project recovers second-generation sugars from the MSW to generate new
bio-based materials for the automotive sector and other consumer products, while
developing a waste-processing solution to regional waste management planning. PERCAL
RIA project valorises OFMSW to produce lactic acid, succinic acid and biosurfactants to be
used in numerous applications, while URBIOFIN DEMO project uses the OFMSW to
develop bio-based chemical building blocks, biopolymers or additives. In doing so, the
project valorises local waste and develops a standard process that can be easily replicated
and implemented in other municipalities and regions.
Alongside the involvement of local administration, the engagement of citizens in waste
separation and recycling is also key for the success of these new models of waste
management for a circular economy. A good example is the EMBRACED DEMO project,
which valorises the cellulosic fraction of the post-consumer Absorbent Hygiene Products
(AHP) waste, including post-consumers’ nappies and adult incontinence products, etc., to
produce super absorbent polymers, plastic fractions, deactivated cells, PHB and bio-
based polyesters that can be used in multiple market applications (e.g. bio-based
fertilisers or medical devices). The project has established a stakeholder group for the
implementation of a strategy for social acceptance and contribution to the separation and
collection of AHP waste.
IMPACT ON MARKETS AND INDUSTRY
The development of new innovative technologies and processes in the bio-based
industries results in an increased competitiveness of European companies (as reported
by almost 90% of the projects), helps reduce the dependence on imports of fossil
resources (71%) and renewable resources (29%) and creates new markets (65%) based on
new bio-based products (figure 62). These results are in line with the creation of new bio-
based value chains (KPI 2), building blocks (KPI 4), materials (KPI 5) and consumer products
109
(KPI 6) and reveal the important impact of BBI JU on the advancement and consolidation
of the bio-based economy in Europe.
Figure 62: Number of projects reporting impacts on markets and industry in different aspects, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these aspects
Examples
EXILVA Flagship is a first-of-a-kind biorefinery for the industrial production of
MicroFibrillated Cellulose (MFC), positioning its coordinator Borregaard at the forefront of
the worldwide production of MFC, and increasing European competitiveness in the
specialty cellulose markets. MFC can be used as an additive in multiple applications
(adhesive, coatings, packaging, personal care products, among many others), enhancing
the rheological properties of the materials and substituting different fossil-based
additives.
Bio-based materials are also becoming more and more used in sectors that were not
traditionally bio-based, such as for example the automotive sector. This industry is
incorporating bio-based materials with improved mechanical properties, and which are
lighter and have an improved end-of-life cycle, to substitute the widespread use of fossil-
based plastics and composites. Examples of projects working in cooperation with the
automotive industry are BARBARA, VAMOS, BIOMOTIVE, ECOXY, GreenLight or ReInvent,
among others. For instance, the GreenLight RIA project, which has already ended, worked
on the production of cost-effective lignin-based carbon fibres for innovative light-weight
applications for vehicles, while ReInvent aims at producing new bio-based soft and semi-
6
6
5
4
2
4
1
73
59
54
47
29
22
9
88%
71%
65%
57%
35%
29%
11%
Increase competitiveness (European companies,industry)
Reduce dependence on imports of fossil oil andother non-renewable resources
Creation of new markets
Technology transfer
Investments in facilities and equipment
Reduce dependence on imports of renewableresources
Expansion of production capacity
Markets and impact on industryProjects reporting impact in these areas
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
110
rigid foams for the automotive industry, and BARBARA develops biopolymers with
advanced functionalities, such as antimicrobial properties.
The BBI JU portfolio encompasses several projects that work to bridge the protein gap in
Europe, reduce protein imports and achieve a sustainable protein production decoupled
from animal farming. As described in the previous section on job creation, FARMYNG and
PLENITUDE Flagships produce proteins for animal feed based on insects and food-grade
proteins from sustainable cereal crops, respectively.
Additional models for sustainable protein production are developed in SYLFEED,
Greenprotein or BIOSEA projects, among others. SYLFEED DEMO project works on the
processing of wood biomass into single-cell proteins for feed for aquaculture. BIOSEA RIA
project extracts proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and other valuable compounds from
macro and micro algae to use them for different products and applications in cosmetics,
food and feed products. GreenProtein DEMO project valorises vegetable processing
industry remnants into high-value functional proteins and other food ingredients.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
BBI JU projects foster the development of sustainable bio-based industries with reduced
environmental impact, in several respects: 84% contribute to lower GHG emissions in
relation to the fossil-based counterparts; 75% of the projects report a contribution to
waste reduction, reuse, recycling or valorisation; and nearly half of the projects report a
reduced energy consumption and improved land use. In addition, 35% of the projects
report improved water efficiency and more sustainable use of natural resources.
111
Figure 63: Number of projects reporting an expected positive environmental impact, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these aspects
Examples
As illustrated in the section on local and regional impact, many BBI JU projects work on
the valorisation of urban biowaste, wastewater and OFMSW, reducing the amount of
waste and creating more sustainable waste-management models. As an additional
example, Deep Purple DEMO project transforms diluted urban biowastes, including mixed
waste streams, the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, wastewater and sewage
sludge into a sustainable source of feedstock for various bio-industries. By doing so, 58%
of the primary sludge and 85% of the secondary sludge deriving from a wastewater
treatment plant are valorised, also reducing the amount of landfilled organic waste by 60%
compared to state-of-the art solutions (11,400 t/y).
The use of side-streams of the food-processing industry contributes to both the
reduction of residues and the sourcing of useful organic compounds to be further
transformed into products. For example, AFTERLIFE RIA project uses advanced filtration
technologies to filter wastewater from food-processing industries (cheese, fruits and
sweets) to recover organic compounds and transform them into PHAs, which can be used
for bio-plastics production. In addition, more than 70% of the volume is recovered as
ultrapure water that can be reused, thereby improving water use.
Plastic packaging is currently in most consumer applications and is responsible for a
massive pollution of water and land ecosystems. Several BBI JU projects work on the
7
4
4
4
3
3
1
69
64
42
38
29
29
16
84%
75%
51%
46%
35%
35%
19%
Reduction of GHG emissions
Waste reduction, reuse, recycling or valorization
Reduced energy consumption
Improved land use (sustainable intensification, reducedland use)
Water use efficiency
Sustainable management of natural resources (e.g.forestmanagement)
Utilization and recycling of CO2 from technical processes
Environmental impactProjects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
112
development of bio-based biodegradable packaging with equivalent or improved barrier
properties, that can replace the fossil-based alternatives. For example, the FRESH DEMO
project has developed a fully bio-based and biodegradable ready-meal packaging , which
is home compostable. Preliminary LCA results show a carbon footprint reduction of 80%.
These packaging solutions have already undergone several pre-commercial trails and
have already reached the market. PULPACKTION DEMO project is working on the
development of cellulose-based packaging for different applications (e.g. food and
electronics) which is compostable, lighter and will achieve CO2 emission reduction of
approximately 50%. POLYBIOSKIN project develop of a fully biodegradable and bioactive
facial beauty masks based on biopolymers provided with a skin-compatible surface. The
Beauty masks is produced by electrospinning using water as solvent. The material is fully
bio-based, biodegradable and soluble in water. This will help decreasing the impact on
environment of cosmetic products that are currently still mainly produced using petrol-
based substrates. Another example of targeting a sustainable end-of-life for packaging
products is BIONTOP RIA project, which is developing bio-based recyclable-by-
design polymers, coatings and composites for food and personal care packaging
applications.
Many BBI JU projects contribute to improving water and energy efficiency. For
example, Woodzymes RIA project transforms cellulosic residues into different bio-based
building blocks through enzymatic processes, to valorise underutilised lignin and
hemicellulose fractions of kraft pulp mills. As a result, reductions of up to 30ºC in the
temperature for the kraft pulp delignification stage, and up to 20% of the energy in
enzyme-aided refining can be expected. The GRETE project objective is to improve the
existing wood-to-textile value chains by developing new technologies for wood pulp
modification, cellulose dissolution and generation of high-quality fibres, and which are
expected to deliver a 20-30 % reduction in energy use.
The preservation and enhancement of biodiversity is a cross-cutting issue to be
considered in all types of industrial developments and is a key aspect for the development
of a sustainable bio-based economy. BBI JU projects report contributing to the
preservation and/or enhancement of biodiversity in agricultural land (15%), forests (11%)
or water ecosystems (8%). 5% of the projects also report possible risks for biodiversity
(figure 64).
113
Figure 64: Number of projects reporting an expected positive impact on biodiversity in different ecosystems, as well as possible risks.
For example, the Dendromass4Europe DEMO project aims at establishing sustainable,
Short Rotation Coppice (SRC), regional cropping systems for agricultural dendromass
production on marginal land. Unlike other monocultural, annual agricultural crops (corn,
potato, oilseed rape etc.), SRC provides habitats for ground vegetation and small animals
and does not need the use of herbicides. In situations where SRC is implemented along
trenches, or close to other moist habitats, the SRC is expanding the habitat, e.g. by
providing winter hibernation niches for amphibians living within the water bodies
(trenches, ponds etc.). Moreover, some SRC localities contain wetland refugium like terrain
depressions, and surrounding poplar trees provide buffer zones for the protection of
these micro-localities which are important for natural species’ life cycles. In addition, as
SRC is more a forest-like habitat (crown shelter, reduced irradiation on the ground
vegetation), the SRC can provide an "extension" of habitats suitable for forest-dwelling
species, and possibly also a bridging function between small forests in highly
industrialised landscapes.
FARMYNG Flagship contributes to the biodiversity of marine ecosystems, as it replaces
fish meal with mealworm meal in aquaculture and helps to prevent the overfishing of
small pelagic fish. More than 20% of the fish caught all over the world is used to produce
fish meal and fish oil, thus massively impacting ocean biodiversity. It is expected that an
additional 6 insect protein plants in Europe could lead to a significant reduction of ocean
pressure by avoiding 800 000 tons of fresh fish catch worldwide, producing 200 000
tonnes of fish meal.
IMPACT ON SCIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
1
2
13
8
7
5
15%
11%
8%
5%
Agricultural land
Forests
Water (ocean and inlandwaters)
Possible risks to biodiversity
BiodiversityProjects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
114
BBI JU’s programme is characterised by a strong and close cooperation between academia
and industry, which work together across different TRLs for the development and
deployment of technologies with concrete market applications. In this context, nearly 80%
of the projects report an increased cooperation between industry and academia,
strengthening collaboration across regions and countries and contributing to knowledge
creation (figure 65).
Figure 65: number of projects reporting contributions to different aspects of scientific impact, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these aspects
Examples
Most of the BBI JU project consortia have a balanced composition of partners coming from
academia, research organisations, industry, primary producers or other different types of
organisations. For example, BIOrescue consortium, which aims at valorising the residues
of the mushroom industry for the extraction of valuable bioactive compounds, includes
universities, research organizations, a large mushroom producer and technology
developers. EFFORTE consortium, which works for the development of tools and methods
to improve the sustainability operations, is composed of forest owners, forest operators,
the forestry industry, research and technology centres, and an association of paper
industries, among others.
MANDALA RIA project is addressing the challenges related to the recyclability of plastics
by i) creating innovative functional adhesives that allow easier separation of multilayer
materials and ii) developing mono-material bio-based plastics. By doing so, it is advancing
7
5
6
5
3
3
1
67
67
65
57
38
33
9
82%
80%
79%
69%
46%
41%
11%
Knowledge creation/ scientific breakthrough
Increased cooperation across regions and countries
Increase academia - industry cooperation
Scientific community/network building
Contribution to KET, eg. Biotechnology
New patents and IP rights
Creation of spin offs and start-ups
Science and knowledgeProjects reporting impact in these areas
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
115
the state of the art in several aspects, such as delamination technologies, advanced
materials (thermoreversible adhesives), or the use of nanotechnology to enhance barrier
properties and to act as radiation absorbers to make delamination more effective.
InDirect and Zelcor RIA projects work on different processes for the transformation of
organic residues and lignocellulosic materials through insect-based bioconversion,
thereby advancing the knowledge on biorefinery processes based on insects, insect
physiology on industrial substrates and biotechnological routes for lignin conversion.
Among the already finalised projects, there are several important contributions to
knowledge creation and the development of new processes and materials, such as lignin-
based fibres and composites for different applications (GreenLight, SmartLi), bio-based
biosurfactants (Carbosurf), processes and technologies for Combined Ultrasonic and
Enzyme treatment of lignocellulosic materials (US4GreenChem), and chemical and
enzymatic processes (FIRS2RUN), among others.
EDUCATION AND SOCIETY
A successful transition to a circular bio-based Europe requires the informed collaboration
of citizens and a high level of awareness on the benefits of bio-based products compared
to their fossil-based counterparts. BBI JU projects recognise the importance of engaging
citizens. 64% report contributing to increasing the awareness and understanding of the
bio-based economy, more than half of them carry out training or education activities and
almost 30% foster gender balance and inclusion (figure 66).
Figure 66: Number of projects reporting an impact on education and society, as well as the overall percentage of projects addressing these areas.
Examples
5
6
3
52
43
23
7
64%
54%
29%
8%
Awareness and understanding of bio-based economy inthe society
Training or education
Gender balance and inclusion
Contribution to Human Capacity Building
Education and societyProjects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
116
Some BBI JU projects organise activities focused on the interaction with citizens. The
BIOnTop RIA project is developing a range of bio-based plastics and coatings with
improved biodegradability properties. Its consortium includes a consumer organisation,
whose main role is to evaluate society’s awareness and understanding of the bio-based
economy. The BIOBRIDGES CSA project develops communication and co-creation
activities such as videos and games, to increase and improve consumers’ awareness,
confidence and trust around the benefits of bio-based products compared to the fossil-
based counterparts. The BioCannDo CSA project has also produced several dissemination
materials for the general public, including a series of videos explaining the benefits of
different bio-based products for daily use.
Education and training programmes are also part of BBI JU project activities. For example,
in the ECOAT RIA project universities and RTOs organise training courses for university
students and industry partners and carry out seminars in public secondary schools. The
EFFECTIVE DEMO project also organises training sessions for undergraduate and
graduate students, researchers and professionals, and open demonstration days at the
facilities of the industrial partners.
IMPACT ON SAFETY AND HEALTH
Nearly half of BBI JU projects report producing healthier products and 40% expect to
develop safer processes (figure 67).
Figure 67: Number of projects reporting a positive impact on health and safety.
Examples
Some examples of projects producing healthier products are: BIOSMART (innovative
package functionalities tailored to drastically reduce food fungal and microbial
proliferation and enhance freshness preservation), AQUABIOPROFIT (valorisation of
fisheries and aquaculture side-streams into health supplements), WASEABI (use of
5
5
39
31
48%
40%
Healthier products
Safer processes
Health and Safety Projects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
117
seafood side-streams for the extraction of bioactive molecules for the production of food
and feed products) and ReSolve (replacement of hazardous with safer alternatives derived
from non-food carbohydrates).
Additional examples of projects developing safer processes are: VIPRISCAR (synthesis of
polyurethanes without isocyanates, whose presence in the work atmosphere is toxic, or
use of polymerization waterbone processes to avoid toxic solvents), Neocel (the
production of the targeted bio-based textiles does not use hazardous solvents and does
not produce toxic effluents) and TECH4EFFECT (introduction of new mechanised
processes in forest operations to avoid accidents and reinforce safety practices at work).
IMPACT ON STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
The role of standards and regulations in the development and uptake of bio-based
products is crucial and as such remains an integral part of the BBI JU portfolio. To this end,
26% of the projects expect to contribute to policy recommendations and 21% expect to
contribute to the development or improvement of standards and regulations, as shown
in Figure 68. The concrete outcome of the corresponding projects and in particular LIFT
will be further exploited with BIC and Commission in 2020.
Figure 68: number of projects reporting a contribution to the development of standards, regulations and policies.
Examples
BBI JU CSAs greatly contribute to the development of policy recommendations to facilitate
the market uptake and acceptance of bio-based products, and to foster the development
of the bio-based industries across Europe. BIOWAYS has delivered a set of
recommendations for future activities and supports measures to improve consumers’
awareness of bio-based products, to increase their public acceptance and to contribute
to their better market uptake.
3
1
21
18
26%
21%
Policy recommendations
Development or improvement of standards andregulations
Standards, regulations and policiesProjects reporting impact in these aspects
Finalized projects Ongoing projects % of all projects
118
Several EU projects will produce analyses and policy recommendations on current
hurdles for the deployment of the bio-based economy. For example, the URBIOFIN DEMO
project, which processes the organic fraction of municipal solid waste into different bio-
based chemicals, will identify regulatory constraints for the deployment of its biorefinery
and provide policy recommendations to overcome these limitations. B-FERST will deliver
policy recommendations on fertiliser regulation, quality requirements and end of waste
criteria, and EMBRACED will provide recommendations on the end-of-life criteria for AHP.
FIRST2RUN Flagship project, which uses vegetable oils cultivated in marginal lands to
produce chemicals for diverse applications such as biolubricants, cosmetics and
bioplastics, is working on the LCA, S-LCA and analysis of standardisation schemes of the
targeted bio-based chemicals and materials, in order to facilitate its market uptake and
increase the understanding and awareness of customers and stakeholders.
Many BBI JU projects report contributing to the definition of strategies towards the
standardisation of the developed bio-based processes and products. For example, the
EFFECTIVE DEMO project works on the production of bio-based films and fibres that
enable a sustainable end-of-life for products, in applications ranging from garments,
carpets and sportswear to automotive parts, packaging materials, fishing products,
electric and electronic components, and it also contributes to the definition of strategies
towards the standardisation of the developed bio-based processes and products.
STAR4BBI CSA project supports the adaption of the regulatory framework and of relevant
standards for selected existing value chains and the development of new value chains
based on biomass from forests, agriculture and organic waste.
BBI JU PROJECTS’ CONTRIBUTION TO THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The development and deployment of a sustainable bioeconomy can greatly contribute to
the achievement of the UN’s SDGs. The close connection between the SDGs and BBI JU’s
portfolio was confirmed, with more than half of the projects reporting contributions to
the SDGs: SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 - Climate action,
and SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure. In addition, about one third of the
projects contributes to SDGs 8 - Decent work and economic growth, and 3 - Good health
and well-being (figure 69). A more detailed analysis can be found in a BBI JU dedicated
study55 on the contribution of BBI JU projects to SDGs, which considers projects funded
under Calls 2014 to 2017, inclusive.
55 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/news/new-report-bbi-ju-shows-contribution-its-projects-sdgs
119
Figure 69: number of projects reporting a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Examples
SDG 12 - Responsible consumption and production
BIOMOTIVE DEMO project aims to demonstrate, in relevant industrial environments, the
production of innovative and advanced bio-based materials specifically for the
automotive industry. The project is in line with two goals: a) achieve the sustainable
management and efficient use of natural resources; b) achieve the environmentally sound
management of all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed
international frameworks, and significantly reduce the chemicals’ release to air, water and
soil in order to minimise their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
SDG 13 - Climate action
SPIRALG DEMO project will set up an algal biorefinery to produce phycocyanin and other
valuable components from the spirulina to use them in different applications. Since algae
are primary biomass material which require sun, water and nutrients, their carbon
capture capability is highly valued throughout the world. Capturing carbon through high-
rate algae production systems along with the use of the bio-pigments as alternatives to
petrol-based synthetic dyes can be considered an attractive way to act against climate
change.
SDG 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure
5
5
10
11
12
14
15
18
19
19
29
30
49
49
50
5%
5%
11%
12%
13%
15%
16%
20%
21%
21%
32%
33%
53%
53%
54%
10. REDUCED INEQUALITIES
16. PEACE, JUSTICE & STRONG INSTITUTIONS
1. NO POVERTY
4. QUALITY EDUCATION
17. PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS
6. CLEAN WATER & SANITATION
5. GENDER EQUALITY
14. LIFE BELOW WATER
7. AFFORDABLE & CLEAN ENERGY
15. LIFE ON LAND
2. ZERO HUNGER
11. SUSTAINABLE CITIES & COMMUNITIES
3. GOOD HEALTH & WELL-BEING
8. DECENT WORK & ECONOMIC GROWTH
9.INDUSTRY, INNOVATION & INFRASTRUCTURE
13. CLIMATE ACTION
12. RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION & PRODUCTION
Contribution of BBI JU's projects to the SDGsNumber and percentage of projects reporting a contribution
120
POLYBIOSKIN RIA project develops skin contact biopolymer-based products commonly
used in the cosmetics, biomedical and sanitary industries with an increased performance
and functionality. The adaptation and combination of processing technologies is expected
to economically impact these sectors and to create an environmental-friendly
manufacturing of bio-based products. A high innovation potential is also associated with
boosting the use of biopolymers that offer unprecedented antimicrobial, absorbency and
skin-compatibility features in order to deliver new high-performance products
1.3.5. Monitoring the leverage effect of the initiative
The leverage effect aims to measure the ability of the BBI JU to attract additional financing
from beneficiaries – whether members of the JU or not – and to multiply Horizon 2020
budget resources, including through additional activities.
As far as the contributions from BBI members are concerned, the BBI JU Regulation states
that for the period from 2014 until the end of the initiative in 2024, the contribution by
BIC and/or its constituent entities shall be at least EUR 2.73 billion and that the EU
contribution shall be up to EUR 975 million. So, by 2024 a minimum of EUR 2.8 of in-kind
and/or financial contributions by BIC and its constituent entities shall be leveraged for
each euro of EU funding. A more in-depth analysis of the different types of contributions
from BIC to the BBI JU Initiative is available under section 1.7 below.
The leverage calculation takes into account not only the contributions from JU members
other than the EU, but also those from other beneficiaries, which represents the costs
incurred by all participants in the implementation of indirect actions less the contribution
of the BBI JU and any other Union contribution to those costs. Its total value for the period
2014-2019 attained EUR 337 229 844.
In order to measure the leverage effect, the European Commission proposed a calculation
method that was applied to all Joint Undertakings in the context of the mid-term
evaluation of the JUs operating under Horizon 2020. This calculation method excludes the
contribution to the administrative costs of the Joint Undertaking56. In 2017, the calculation
method was formally adopted by the BBI JU Governing Board57. It provides an indication
of the total leverage effect of the initiative over a given period of time. The formula is the
following:
56 Excluding the contribution to the administrative costs of BBI JU, the final target leverage effect amounts to
EUR 2.85 instead of EUR 2.8
57 BBI JU governing board meeting of 28 June 2017.
121
(Total) leverage = Operational leverage + additional leverage:
𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 =∑ 𝐴𝑃𝐼𝐾58 + ∑ 𝐹𝐶59
∑ 𝐸𝑈 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛60
𝐴𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 =∑𝐼𝐾𝐴𝐴61
∑𝐸𝑈 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
As each element of this calculation has its own reporting and certification process with
significant differences over time, it is only at the end of the programme that the result
reaches the appropriate level of reliability. Despite this consideration, the BBI JU
Governing Board discussed and agreed that the calculation of the leverage effect shall be
monitored on a yearly basis as soon as the different elements of the calculation reach a
consistent level of reliability.
For the period up to the end of 2019, the value of the leverage effect of the BBI JU Initiative
is:
𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = (337 229 844 + 3 250 00062) /596 169 910 = 0.57 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 916 064 00063 / 596 169 910 = 1.54 (𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙) 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑑 2019 = 0.57 + 1.54 = 2.11
The reported operational leverage is growing compared to the past. The additional
leverage is reported as “expected” because the IKAA certification process was not possible
due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The expected leverage value – considering the planned
IKAA value for 2020 - is in line with expectation over the reporting period, but based only
on the partial reporting of in-kind additional activities.
58 Difference between the total costs and the JU contribution of the grant agreements signed by the cut-off date
of the data reported in the AAR.
59 Total amount of financial contributions by BIC, delivered at programme level, and/or by BIC constituent entities that are beneficiaries not receiving funding, delivered at project level and committed by the cut-off date of the data reported in the AAR.
60 Total amount of EU funding committed in grant agreements signed by the cut-off date of the data reported in the AAR.
61 Total amount of in-kind contribution to additional activities by BIC and/or its constituent entities implemented by the cut-off date of the data reported in the AAR and duly certified later.
62 This amount includes the financial contribution from the member other than the Union and its constituent entities at programme and project level.
63 This figure includes the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to proceed with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members.
122
The following figure 70 shows the evolution of the leverage effect and the table 10 details
each component of the leverage effect calculation over the first years of the initiative.
Figure 70: the evolution of the leverage effect over the first years of the initiative.
6.54
2.62
2.141.96
2.11
2.86
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
BBI JU leverage effect
realised leverage
Year
In Kind
Additional
Activities (IKAA -
cumulative in
EUR)
Financial
contributions
(cumulative in
EUR)
Difference
between the
total costs and
the BBI JU
contribution of
the projects
(cumulative in
EUR)
Total (cumulative
in EUR)
EU
contribution
(cumulative in
EUR)
Total
Leverage
2015 291,482,000 0 33,107,991 319,577,244 49,653,708 6.54
2016 477,342,000 750,000 119,475,848 580,053,334 227,753,235 2.62
2017 663,589,000 1,250,000 213,997,731 848,473,711 410,126,324 2.14
2018 699,879,000 3,250,000 268,068,173 932,839,558 493,288,316 1.96
123
Table 10: Components of the leverage effect calculation over the first years of the initiative.
1.3.6. Evaluation: procedures and global evaluation outcome, redress, statistics
CALL 2019 EVALUATION: KEY STATISTICS AND INFORMATION ON TOPICS
The 2019 Call for Proposals covered Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation
Actions (IA) – comprising Demonstration Actions (DEMO) and Flagships, and Coordination
and Support Actions (CSA). The call contained 21 topics (three Flagships, four DEMO, ten
RIA, and four CSA). The initial indicative budget for the call was EUR 135 million (the
breakdown per type of action is shown in Table 11 below).
The call was published in the Funding and Tenders Portal and in the Official Journal on 4
April 2019 with a submission deadline of 4 September 2019. 184 proposals were
submitted under this call: during the admissibility and eligibility checks, two proposals
were declared inadmissible, and three were declared ineligible; additionally, one duplicate
proposal was withdrawn from the respective applicant. 52% of the proposals were
evaluated above threshold, and 23 proposals out of 178 eligible proposals were retained
for funding, corresponding to a 13% success rate. Prioritisation according to H2020 rules
was performed in cases of proposals with the same overall score. The retained proposals
showcased high-quality in all three criteria of evaluation, as well as an important
commitment in terms of IKOP, IKAA and financial contributions. Several proposals with
high scores were not retained for funding due to budgetary limitations for specific budget
lines (CSA and RIA). The considerable increase in participation to the call, as well as the
widening geographical coverage of applicants, confirm a significant mobilisation of the
BBI sector.
The evaluation of all proposals was completed in November 2019 and the resulting
ranking list was adopted by the BBI JU Governing Board on 13 December 2019. All
applicants were informed about the evaluation results on 17 December 2019 and, on the
same date, the Grant Agreement preparation (GAP) for the 23 retained proposals was
officially launched for an amount of EUR 118 847 602. After the declining by the
consortium of one selected Flagship proposal to continue in the Grant Agreement
Preparation, the respective process was terminated. Another Flagship proposal was
64 This figure includes the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to
proceed with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members.
2019 916,064,00064 3,250,000 337,229,844 1,256,543,844 596,169,910 2.11
124
promoted from the reserve list to the main list and received the invitation to the Grant
Agreement Preparation on 20 December 2019. The updated funding amount has thus
become EUR 118 190 391.
The Call 2019 GAP is expected to be finalised by 4 May 2020.
Figure 71 shows the annual evolution of the mobilisation of the bio-based community
through the calls over the years 2014 to 2019. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of
topics remained stable at 21. The significant growth in the number of proposals testifies
to an increasing mobilisation created by the initiative, reaching 184 proposals and an
average of 8.8 proposals per topic.
Figure 71: Overview of the evolution of submissions in BBI JU Calls (2014-2019).
In the sections below, more detailed information is provided on the submission statistics
as well as on the outcome of the evaluation. In particular, the following information is
included:
number of proposals submitted per topic and success rates;
types of participants (submissions and retained for funding);
country distribution of applicants in proposals submitted and retained for
funding;
share of SMEs in submitted and retained proposals;
share of SME funding in retained proposals.
EVALUATION PROCESS
125
The evaluation was carried out with the assistance of 140 independent experts and one
independent observer, in accordance with the procedures laid down in the guide for
proposal submission and evaluation of Horizon 2020. Two independent experts were
selected and appointed to conduct an ethical screening, uniquely for proposals above the
thresholds. The ethical screening for the majority of the retained proposals was finalised
during the central evaluation.
In selecting experts, the primary objective of the Programme Office in respect of the
composition of the evaluation panels was to ensure a high level of expertise in the areas
of the call, taking also into consideration an appropriate gender balance and geographical
diversity, as well as the participation of experts with relevant industrial expertise. These
considerations were reflected across the selection of 140 experts, giving a gender balance
of 75 men (54%) and 65 women (46%). 39% of invited experts had no previous experience
with BBI JU evaluations, well above the Horizon 2020 target of min. 25%. The regional
balance considerations also ensured the representation of 31 different countries (68%
EU15, 24% EU13, 4% associated countries, 4% other).
Hearings were organised for Flagship actions for all submitted proposals. The hearings
were intended to clarify the business plan and the technology maturity to help the panel
establish their final assessment or improve the experts’ understanding of the proposal.
All applicants were informed about the evaluation outcome on 17 December 2019, no
later than five months after the proposal submission deadline (see section 1.3.2. Horizon
2020 KPIs and cross-cutting issues on specific details with respect to TTI). One redress was
submitted in January 2020.
CALL OUTCOME
The budget available for the call according to the 2019 AWP was EUR 135 million, 17%
higher than the EUR 115 million budget allocated for Call 2018. Given a corresponding
increase of applications, the higher budget availability did not result in a higher overall
success rate. The success rate thus remained stable between Call 2018 (13.6%) and Call
2019 (13%).
For Call 2019 the overall quality of the proposals was high and made the call very
competitive. A good topic coverage was accomplished, and all proposals received
submissions.
In total, 23 out of 178 eligible proposals were selected for funding, consuming 87.6% of
the overall budget, corresponding to an 81% overall topic coverage, with four topics not
covered by proposals retained for funding (topics D1, R4, F1, and S2). Table 11 provides a
breakdown of the proposals submitted and retained per topic as well as the success rate
and budget allocated per type of action.
126
Topic code
Total number
proposals
received
Retained
Proposals
Success rate
(%) Topic Title
Indicative
budget
(in EUR)
DEMO
1 4 0
9%
Scale up conversion of lignin into valuable compounds for application in
specific market sectors
31,000,000
2 21 1
Produce components for various materials, including for food and feed,
from microalgae
3 15 2
Produce bio-based functional ingredients and additives for high-end
markets
4 17 2
Demonstrate bio-based pesticides and/or biostimulant agents for
sustainable increase in agricultural productivity
1 2 1
Use tree species and/or varieties to create new bio-based value chains
52,000,000
127
RIA
RIA
2 10 1
12%
Develop breakthrough technologies to improve the cost-effectiveness and
sustainability of pre-treatment steps within biorefining operations
3 10 3
Apply microorganisms and/or enzymes to resolve end-of-life issues of
plastics
4 7 0
Develop surface or bulk treatments for improved wood-based materials
5 5 1
Convert plant oils and fats into safe high added value products for various
applications including food and personal care
6 6 1
Improve biorefinery operations through process intensification and new
end products
7 4 1
Model the composition of bio-based residual streams and its evolution to
optimise its management and processing
128
8 18 1
Develop sustainable bio-based materials for high-volume consumer
products
9 11 1
Develop bio-based fibres and/or functional molecules to improve the
performance of textile products
10 26 2
Develop bio-based high-performance materials for various and
demanding applications
FLAG
1 2 0 0%
Valorise the organic fraction of municipal solid waste through an
integrated biorefinery at commercial level
15,000,000
2 2 1 50%
Apply technological combinations to valorise all components of biomass
feedstock
20,000,000
3 5 1 20%
Produce high-performance bio-based alternatives to harmful products or
processes to protect and enhance human health and the environment
12,000,000
129
CSA
1 3 1
23%
Assist brand owners to ‘switch to bio-based’
5,000,000
2 1 0
Establish methods and communication for applying mass balance
principles to attribute biomass co-feedstock to products
3 4 1
Shaping the bio-based economy through a participatory approach
4 5 1
Empower SME clusters to bring SMEs ‘across the valley of death’
Table 11: Call 2019 Number of proposals submitted and retained per AWP topic.
130
Participants in submitted and retained proposals. These fall under the five following
categories (Figure 72):
Private-for-Profit (PRC);
Research Organisation (REC);
Higher or Secondary Education (HES);
Public Body (excluding research and education) (PUB);
Other types of organisation (OTH)
Figure 72: Type of participants in submitted or retained for funding proposals in Call 2019.
Figure 73 shows the distribution of applicants and beneficiaries per country, indicating
that EU13 participation, as well as the success rate, are considerably lower than those of
EU15. Overall, the 2019 call attracted applicants from all Member States. From EU28, only
two EU15 countries (Sweden and Luxembourg) and nine EU13 countries do not have
participants in the retained proposals.
131
Figure 73: Distribution of applicants and beneficiaries per country from EU15 and EU13 in Call 2019.
Figure 74 shows the distribution of applicants and beneficiaries per country from
associated and third countries. In Call 2019, five associated countries are receiving
funding. The highest number of successful applicants is from Switzerland. No third
country is participating in retained proposals.
132
Figure 74: Distribution of applicants and beneficiaries per country from associated countries and third countries (industrialised countries and emerging economies and developing countries) in Call 2019.
With respect to SMEs, in Call 2019, 773 participants out of 2 163 were self-declared as
SMEs, thus representing 36% of the total number of participants (Figure 75). In retained
proposals, SMEs represented 40% of all participants, corresponding to 35% of the total
funding. For more details on the overall SME participation and funding allocation see
section 1.3.2.
Figure 75: Call 2019 share of SME unique applicants, beneficiaries and share of funding (in retained proposals)
133
1.4. CALLS FOR TENDERS
No calls for tenders were planned in the AWP 2019, within the scope of Horizon 2020
forms of funding, to support the development and implementation of research and
innovation agendas. Public procurements and contracts concluded for BBI JU
administrative expenditure are reported under section 2.4 below.
134
1.5. DISSEMINATION AND INFORMATION ON PROJECTS’ RESULTS
In 2019, the BBI JU project portfolio reached 101 projects at different stages of their
implementation. Because of this variety, the dissemination activities of ongoing projects
were very heterogeneous in 2019. By the end of the year, only projects from Calls 2014-
2017 had made considerable progress and disseminated intermediate results.
The data made available by projects so far via the ‘continuous reporting’ includes the
following elements:
Number of dissemination and communication activities: concerns activities
in 18 categories such as organisation of a conference; press release, flyer,
etc.;
Estimated number of persons reached: concerns persons in nine
categories such as scientific community, industry, policy makers, etc.
Tables 12 and 13 below - part of the standard Horizon 2020 reporting via the Funding and
Tenders Portal - provide an overview of dissemination and communication activities of all
BBI JU projects that had indicated such activities via the ‘continuous reporting’ module of
the Funding and Tenders Portal. According to the available information, BBI JU projects
have engaged in numerous dissemination and communication activities throughout the
year in the form of conferences, publications, exhibitions etc. In addition, these activities
had a wide estimated outreach. The comparison with 2017 and 2018 shows that in 2019,
there was a significant increase in dissemination and communication activities, and that
both ‘physical’ (conferences, workshops etc.) and digital (social media, video/film etc.)
activities grew extensively. It also needs to be noted that the 2019 figures are based on:
reported (raw) data; (high) data outliers in the dataset were kept in the tables
below. This explains the high growth in e.g. the amount of press releases and
social media.
data provided by 65 projects; 36 of the 101 BBI JU projects will only report their
first dissemination and communication data in 2020 at the earliest.
Type of dissemination &
communication activities 2017 2018 2019
Organisation of a
Conference 5 39 41
Organisation of a Workshop 14 36 49
135
Press release 59 164 1209
Non-scientific and non-peer-
reviewed publication
(popularised publication)
111 487 592
Exhibition 23 96 119
Flyer 24 5553 5574
Training 20 62 82
Social media 45 2735 59566
Website 86 230 314
Communication campaign
(e.g. radio, TV) 14 37 51
Participation at a conference 159 550 686
Participation at a workshop 59 128 178
Participation at an event
other than a conference or a
workshop
51 179 222
Video/film 12 59 70
Pitch event 5 9 14
Trade Fair 19 66 84
Participation in activities
organised jointly with other
Horizon 2020 projects
13 71 80
Other 34 157 189
Table 12: dissemination and communication activities of all BBI JU projects reported in the Funding and Tenders Portal (2017-2019; cumulative amounts)
Estimated number of persons
reached
Category / target group 2017 2018 2019
Scientific Community
(Higher Education,
Research)
124 007 450 043 989 124
Industry 231 388 414 702 2 975 462
Civil Society 9 141 2 935 852 454 8619
General Public 945 855 8 173 203 18 749 257
Policy Makers 15 489 62 034 108 457
Media 15 371 1 577 383 1 797 584
Investors 6 845 39 195 51 425
Customers 104 997 365 529 5 757 952
136
Table 13: estimated number of persons reached, in the context of all dissemination and communication activities (2017-2019; cumulative amounts).
PUBLICATIONS AND PATENTS FROM BBI JU PROJECTS
Data on publications and patents are gathered through the continuous reporting module
of the Funding and Tenders Portal. A detailed overview of this data is provided in Annexes
7.3 and 7.4 respectively. The number of scientific publications produced by BBI JU projects
grows year on year: 129 publications were published in 2019 (compared to 75 in 2018).
Similarly, as the projects from the first calls of the programme (2014-2017) start
producing exploitable results, the number of patent applications grew to 47 by the end
of 2019 (compared to 31 by the end of 2018).
BBI JU ACTIVITY IN SUPPORT TO DISSEMINATION OF PROJECT RESULTS
BBI JU also actively supports the dissemination of project results via three principles:
using IT tools to disseminate project results, providing information about ways to
increase and professionalise dissemination, and participating in meetings and events.
Each of these three methods is described in further detail below.
The main IT tools used by BBI JU to disseminate project information and results are:
A dedicated webpage65 where all ongoing BBI JU projects are featured. This
webpage provides project-specific information, as well as a link to each
project-specific Uniform Resource Locator (URL), where additional
dissemination materials can be found.
CORDIS66, the official results repository of EU-funded research and
innovation projects. On CORDIS, all public project deliverables that are
approved by the BBI JU project officers are published on each project page.
The quarterly BBI JU newsletter which facilitates - among other things - the
dissemination of project results.
BBI JU provides dissemination-supporting information using a webpage67 dedicated to
project management, which includes the following information:
Communication guidelines for projects, including texts and logos which
acknowledge EU funding;
65 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/projects
66 http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html
67 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/participate/project-management
137
A ‘FAQ for coordinators’ document which includes a specific section on
dissemination, communication and exploitation.
BBI JU also has actively participated in dissemination-related meetings and events, such
as:
Meetings within the EU research family about knowledge sharing where best
practices about dissemination are discussed. For example, in 2019 BBI JU took
into account new insights gathered from the Dissemination and Exploitation
Network68 meetings, and implemented best dissemination practices via the IT
tools and information sources described in the two previous paragraphs.
External meetings giving BBI JU project representatives opportunities to
disseminate their results and share best practices. All events organised by BBI
JU or where BBI JU is one of the speakers are available on https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/events.
On 4 December 2019, BBI JU organised its second Stakeholder Forum, which included an
exhibition area where 100 BBI JU projects were able to disseminate their project
objectives and results. On 3 December 2019, BBI JU also organised a so-called ‘Projects
Day’, which allowed projects representatives to interact further and share knowledge.
Finally, BBI JU also disseminates information actively via social media. This activity is
described in more detail in section 2.1.
68 a community of practice supporting the exchange of information and best practices on dissemination and
exploitation at the level of the EU’s Research and Innovation Family.
138
1.6. OPERATIONAL BUDGET EXECUTION
COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
In April 2019 BBI JU published a call for proposals for a total maximum indicative funding
amount of EUR 135 000 000 covered by a budgetary commitment (L1 global) of current
year’s credits. The actions covered by the call were RIAs, DEMOs, Flagships and CSAs.
23 proposals were selected for a requested total funding of EUR 118 847 602, amounting
to a foreseen consumption of 87.4% of the total call budget. The difference between the
call amount and the total requested funding will be de-committed and is intended to be
reactivated during the 2020 financial year to supplement the 2020 call, in line with the
provision included in Article 6(5) of the BBU JU Financial Rules.
Figure 76: Call budget execution.
For what concerns Call 2018, except for one case, all 19 grants awarded were signed by
May 2019 within the given deadline of eight months from the call closure. One grant was
signed after the TTG deadline due to some delays on the side of the consortium during
the grant agreement preparation phase. The totality of grants signed amounted to EUR
102 881 595 and the average TTG was 235 days.
96.4%
73.7%
99.0% 97.9% 99.9%
89.6% 87.4%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
100.0%
Call 2014 Call 2015-1 call 2015-2 call 2016 call 2017 call 2018 call 2019
Call execution (grants per call)
139
Figure 77: Time to grant performance in 2019
PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Pre-financings were paid with an average time to pay of 9.9 days (against a target of 30
days). All payments for a total amount of EUR 82 305 276 were made on time.
Regarding the payment of the periodic reports, the BBI JU Programme Office dealt with
44 interim and final cost claims in 2019. The average time to pay was 74 days (against a
target of 90 days) for a total of EUR 51 111 593. Only one payment was late.
The overall execution of payment appropriations (included in the amended budget – total
EUR 176 006 622) for the operational expenditure was for a total amount of EUR 133 417
722. The remaining EUR 42 589 752 was budgeted for payments of periodic reports in
2019 which were either delayed until 2020 or the amount claimed was much less than
anticipated. Part of this surplus will be reactivated in the 2020 BBI JU budget according to
the provision included in Article 6(5) of the BBI JU Financial Rules and will be used for
future needs.
227
239
231 232
235
215
220
225
230
235
240
245
250
call 2015.1 call 2015.2 call 2016 call 2017 call 2018
time to grant performance - 2019
result target
140
1.7. IN-KIND AND FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
GLOBAL LEVEL
Under the Council Regulation establishing the BBI JU, by the end of the initiative in 2024
the total contribution by the members other than the Union69 or their constituent entities
shall be at least EUR 2.73 billion. The EU contribution to the BBI JU shall be up to EUR 975
million.70
Within the global target of the contributions of the members other than the Union to be
reached by 2024, the Council Regulation also includes well-defined objectives: at least
EUR 1 755 million as in-kind contributions for additional activities (IKAA)71 and at least EUR
182.5 million as financial contributions to operational costs. Regarding the in-kind
contribution to the operational costs (IKOP), there is no defined objective in the Council
Regulation, but an indicative target value of EUR 763.25 million can be calculated, while
indicative expected values are included in the respective AWPs.
IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS OPERATIONAL COSTS (IKOP)
IKOP represents the costs incurred by BIC or its constituent entities in the implementation
of indirect actions less the contribution of the BBI JU and any other Union contribution to
those costs. IKOP can be categorised at three different levels in terms of concretisation
of costs (1) expected/committed; (2) estimated/reported; (3) certified.
The table below shows the values of expected IKOP resulting from the difference between
the grant amount and the total costs to be incurred by BIC constituent entities during the
execution of the actions, as calculated by the BBI JU.
Call
Granted amount
(in EUR) to BIC
constituent
entities
Total expected
costs (in EUR) of
BIC constituent
entities
IKOP (in EUR)
2014 € 42,186,855 € 68,654,652 € 26,467,797
2015.1 € 64,253,258 € 98,631,760 € 34,378,502
2015.2 € 53,919,895 € 75,232,522 € 21,312,627
2016 € 105,663,320 € 153,538,492 € 47,875,173
69 Whereas the Council Regulation mentions ‘members other than the Union’ in plural, the singular will be used
consistently in this report as there is only one ‘member other than the Union’, BIC.
70 Including contribution towards administrative costs.
71 Additional activities are outside the work plan of the BBI Joint Undertaking contributing to the objectives of the
BBI Initiative.
141
2017 € 50,852,300 € 88,505,426 € 37,653,126
2018 € 48,535,233 € 84,571,462 € 36,036,228
TOTAL € 365,410,860 € 569,134,314 € 203,723,453
Table 14: value of IKOP committed in running grants by BIC beneficiaries, per call
In line with Article 4(3) of the Council Regulation, BIC submitted the 2019 IKOP report via
the BBI Programme Office to the GB. It is based on figures given by BIC beneficiaries
participating in BBI JU’s projects, relating to costs incurred during the implementation of
projects in the year 2019. On the basis of this and earlier reports, in the table below, BBI
JU is able to report on the values of IKOP from 2016 until 201972 and detail the information
per call.
Table 15: Values of estimated IKOP incurred in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, per Call.
Compared to the total amount of EUR 61,5 million of IKOP estimated by BIC constituent
entities, EUR 16 776 318 has been certified and is included in the BBI JU accounts as net
assets. The IKOP certification was done via certificates of financial statements submitted
72 In 2015, the incurred costs have been calculated on a pro-rata basis only and are not shown here.
Grants
from Call
for
proposal
Estimated IKOP
incurred in 2016
as reported by
BIC (in EUR)
Estimated
IKOP incurred
in 2017 as
reported by
BIC (in EUR)
Estimated
IKOP incurred
in 2018 as
reported by
BIC (in EUR)
Estimated
IKOP
incurred in
2019 as
reported
by BIC (in
EUR)
2014 2,438,785 4,494,436 4,279,317 2,344,886
2015.1 2,973,000 3,627,843 6,813,094 7,653,851
2015.2 139,517 2,278,318 2,964,681 3,755,574
2016 1,726,419 5,935,905 5,793,864
2017 692,526 1,940,921
2018 1,641,766
TOTAL
per year 5,551,302 12,127,016 20,685,523 23,130,862
TOTAL
by end 2019 61,494,703
142
in the context of the first concluded project and via the submission by some BIC
constituent entities of IKOP certificates73 before the end of the projects.
IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES (IKAA): CERTIFICATION AND VALIDATION
IKAA constitutes the in-kind contribution incurred by the member other than the Union
or its constituent entities, consisting of the costs incurred by them in implementing
additional activities outside the work plan of the BBI JU contributing to the objectives of
the BBI JU Initiative.
According to the Additional Activities Plan 2019 submitted by BIC and approved by the
GB at the beginning of 2019, up to EUR 216 185 000 of additional activities were expected
to be invested in 2019 by BIC’s constituent entities. The certified values of IKAA will be
provided by BIC for the final version of the AAR 2020.
The in-kind contributions are linked to those reflected in the IKAA plan over the same
period and are certified by the independent external auditors in compliance with Article
4.4 of the Council Regulation.
The certified74 IKAA provided by BIC for the year 2019 amounts to EUR 216,185,00075. The
certified additional investments by the end of 2019 reach a total of EUR 916,064,000.
Below is the detailed breakdown of certified IKAA by year and its graphical evolution
against target and projections:
Year Certified IKAA (in EUR)
2014-2015 291,482,000
2016 185,860,000
2017 186,247,000
2018 36,290,000
2019 216,185,000 (planned value)
TOTAL 916,064,000
73 According to the BBI Guidance for the implementation of in-kind contributions certificates are issued by
independent external auditors.
74 IKAA is certified by independent external auditors according to the IKAA guidance approved by the BBI JU Governing Board.
75 This figure is the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to proceed
with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members.
143
Table 16: values of certified IKAA per year
Figure 78: Value of planned additional activities, IKAA target and certified IKAA (2015-201976)
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Council Regulation lays down the minimum financial contribution to be provided by
the member other than the Union or its constituent entities towards operational costs.
The objective at the end of the initiative is that at least EUR 182.5 million is contributed
by BIC and its constituent entities towards this aim.
At the end of 2019, the financial contribution committed to by BIC and/or its constituent
entities as direct contribution to the BBI JU operational budget amounted to a total of
EUR 3 250 000 – less than 2 % of the amount committed to (see table below).
After the Council Regulation has been amended, it has been possible for the members
other than the Union and their constituent entities to have their financial contributions
at project level counted towards the EUR 182.5 million target. However, in Call 2018, in
spite of the additional eligibility condition in order to favour BIC commitments in the RIA
76 This figure includes the planned value of IKAA for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to
proceed with the certification of the IKAA from BIC members.
€ 0
€ 500,000,000
€ 1,000,000,000
€ 1,500,000,000
€ 2,000,000,000
€ 2,500,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
IKAA expectations
AA planned IKAA certified IKAA Target
144
B topics, BIC constituent entities committed to only EUR 400 000 in the retained
proposals.
For this reason, the European Commission decided to address the shortcoming by
reducing the EU contribution to the BBI JU for its final call in 2020. This decision will not
endanger the achievement of the overall strategic objectives of the BBI JU Initiative by
2024, which are for the most part already well on track.
OVERALL INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION TO THE BBI JU INITIATIVE
The total level of the contribution by BIC and its constituent entities at the end of 2019,
remains below the expected values. The certified IKAA are at the expected level,
committed IKOP is lower than the expected value, and the financial contribution is far
below.
Year
IKOP
(EUR
committed)
Financial
contribution
(EUR
committed)
IKAA
(EUR)
Total
(EUR)
2015 26,467,797 291,482,000 317,949,797
2016 55,691,129 750,000 185,860,000 242,301,129
2017 47,875,173 500,000 186,247,000 234,622,173
2018 37,653,126 2,000,000 36,290,000 75,943,126
2019 36,036,228 216,185,00077 252,221,228
Total 203,723,453 3,250,000 916,064,000 1,123,037,453
Percentage of the
expected value by
end of initiative
27% 2% 54% 45%
Expected value by
end of initiative 763,250,00078 182,500,000 1,700,000,000 2,505,750,000
Table 17: financial contribution from Members other than the EU against objectives and indicative
targets included in the basic act.
77 This is the planned value for 2019: due to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was not possible to proceed with the
certification of the IKAA from BIC
78 The value of IKOP has been calculated as an indicative target
145
Figure 79: Total amount of contribution by BIC and its constituent entities to BBI JU (committed IKOP, committed financial contributions, certified IKAA)79.
For the calculation of the related leverage effect, please refer to section 1.3.5. above.
79 This graphs will be updated on the basis of the IKAA certificates received by May 2020
€ 1,123,037,453
€ -
€ 500,000,000
€ 1,000,000,000
€ 1,500,000,000
€ 2,000,000,000
€ 2,500,000,000
€ 3,000,000,000
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
BIC overall contributions
Current industry contribution (IKOP+IKAA+CASH) expected industry contribution target
146
2. SUPPORT TO OPERATIONS
147
2.1. COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES
Communication and stakeholder management activities during 2019 focused on
consolidating the transition of BBI JU from recognition to reputation building. In
particular, communication built on project achievements and impacts, with a specific
focus on the scientific advancements and their market uptake potential. Different
communication products contributed to the on-going campaign on the vision of the BBI
JU programme and the BBI JU itself, highlighting its added value in the lives of EU citizens.
Similar to the previous year, the communication and stakeholder management strategy
was carried out following the roadmap already developed in cooperation with BIC and
the EU represented by the EC and aimed at achieving BBI JU’s long-term communication
goals.
The communication team and the Programme Unit ensured the presence of BBI JU in
numerous high-level events and continued the production of strategic communication
tools that facilitated the communication of the BBI JU activities to the wider public as well
as key stakeholders.
BBI JU continued to exploit the following communication channels established during
prior years, as presented in the following sections:
press and other media;
champions, multipliers and intermediaries;
communication events;
website & social media;
public relations.
Priority actions
The Communication and Stakeholder Management Action Plan 2018 was carried out in
five priority areas in order to successfully allow the transition of the communication
activities from recognition to reputation building:
Communication Strategy
Annual Communication Action Plan
External events & Projects
148
Promote the BBI calls with a particular emphasis on underrepresented
countries or macro-regions in synergy with other EU and BIC initiatives;
Communicate about the results and achievements of BBI JU’s completed
projects, with a specific focus on the scientific advancements and the
market uptake potential;
Develop communication on the added value of the BBI Initiative in the daily
lives of EU citizens, as specifically requested by several EU institutions;
Organise in December 2019 the second BBI JU Stakeholder Forum keeping
the successful format of 2017, with a specific focus on output, impact and
benefits for the EU citizens;
Consolidate the relationship built with priority stakeholders (institutional,
governmental and NGOs) to reinforce and support their role as
ambassadors.
Outreach activities
2.1.1. Promoting BBI JU Call 2019: BBI JU Info Day & Brokerage event 2019
The BBI JU Info Day and Brokerage event on the BBI Call 2019 took place on 12 April,
keeping the format of the previous years. Alongside the main event in Brussels, which
was also web-streamed, a social media campaign (Twitter and LinkedIn) was organised in
order to further promote and disseminate information to potential applicants. Printed
supporting material (2019 call brochure) was made available both during the day of the
event and via the BBI JU dedicated webpage.
Over 700 participants coming from 37 different countries registered for the event in the
European Commission’s Charlemagne building, and there were 1 400 connections via live
streaming. This year, 21% of participants came from SMEs, 19% from academic and
higher education institutions, and another 15% came from non-profit research
organisations.
In addition to informal networking during the breaks, BBI JU’s brokerage event gave
attendees a formal opportunity to expand their contacts by scheduling 820 face-to-face
meetings from a total of 1 324 meeting requests, through the BBI JU Partnering Platform,
allowing the participants to expand their professional networks and discuss potential
collaborations.
149
In parallel to the plenary session and brokerage event, BBI JU invited six80 organisations
with shared links and synergies to host InfoBooths. These InfoBooths offered visibility to
other important initiatives relevant and complementary to BBI JU’s own funding activities.
The social media campaign of the event potentially reached over 230 000 people in total
and in detail:
Figure 71: Twitter activities during the BBI JU Info Day and Brokerage event for the promotion of the 2019 call
98% of participants were satisfied with the event, according to the participant survey.
Figure 81: BBI JU Info Day 2019 satisfaction survey
Similarly to previous years, the promotion of the call was not limited to the BBI JU Info
Day. The BBI JU Programme Office promoted the call to numerous external stakeholders,
particularly - but not exclusively - during national info days. Dedicated information was
also disseminated via the SRG, the SC and the NCPs network.
80 Directorate-General for Environment, Blue Bioeconomy Forum DG MARE, Research Enquiry Service (RES),
Executive Agency for SMEs (EASME), Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), BioHorizon National Contact Points (NCPs), and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
Average2%
Good41%
Excellent57%
Overall, what is your opinion of the BBI JU Info Day?
150
14 national info days took place in EU MS and associated countries (two more than in
2018):
National Info Days
Date City, Country
22 March 2019 Łódź, Poland
2 April 2019 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
15 April 2019 Riga, Latvia
16 April 2019 Vilnius, Lithuania
25 April 2019 Prague, Czech Republic
29 April 2019 Tel Aviv, Israel
30 April 2019 Germany (webinar)
2 May 2019 Manchester, United Kingdom
10 May 2019 Thessaloniki, Greece
14 May 2019 Rome, Italy
22 May 2019 Madrid, Spain
22 May 2019 Limerick, Ireland
28 May 2019 Lisbon, Portugal
19 June 2019 Gembloux, Belgium
Table 18: Participation of BBI JU staff at National Info Days in 2019
2.1.2. Communicating the impact of BBI JU
In 2019, BBI JU paid particular attention to showcasing the impact of the bio-based
products in the daily lives of the EU citizens. To this end, BBI JU organised and participated
in 63 meetings, events and conferences. Figure 82 shows the map with the location of all
the events that BBI JU attended throughout 2019. The colour code of the dots links the
event with the communication objective. Annex 7.11 presents the whole list of events.
151
Figure 82: Map of meetings, events and conferences where BBI JU participated or organised in 2019
BBI JU STAKEHOLDER FORUM 2019
The BBI JU Stakeholder Forum took place on 3-4 December in Brussels at the Egg
Congress and Meeting Centre with the aim of engaging with BBI JU’s projects and
stakeholders.
On 3 December, BBI JU welcomed its projects’ representatives during a day dedicated to
the exchange of ideas, finding potential areas of common interest and synergies, as well
as networking.
Projects were grouped by thematic area – consumer products, food, feed & health
products, intermediate products, aquatic biomass, waste as biomass, CSAs, Flagships and
synergies. Representatives had the opportunity to talk about their work. Afterwards,
participants attended different breakout sessions, where project representatives were
invited to take the floor and make a pitch presentation of their activities.
On 4 December, the BBI JU welcomed nearly 600 participants for a conference with 30
speakers and expert panellists discussing the strategic importance of the bio-based
economy in Europe and BBI JU's key role in implementing it.
152
Participants represented a wide range of industries and sectors, SMEs, academic and
research organisations, local and national government, EU institutions, projects and the
bio-based industries community as a whole.
The participant survey obtained very positive feedback regarding the content and the
overall organisation of the event. It also mentioned some improvements as compared to
the first BBI JU Stakeholder Forum in 2017.
BBI JU ran unpaid social media campaigns on Twitter and LinkedIn to promote the event
in September and November. Articles in POLITICO.eu, POLITICO’s newsletter EU Influence
and ScienceBusiness featured the event.
The event’s coverage on social media was a success, reaching 52 961 views on Twitter on
4 December 2019, BBI JU’s record of impressions in one day. Moreover, the event’s
hashtag #BBISF19 was a trending topic in Belgium for most of the day. #bioeconomy and
#biobased also appeared at the top of the trending topics in Belgium that day. On 2-5
December, BBI JU’s messages were seen more than 115 000 times on Twitter, and more
than 13 000 times on LinkedIn.
#BBIIMPACT CAMPAIGN
The campaign consisted of three waves: 8-18 July 9-27 September and 12-29 November.
24 videos and three images were created to illustrate 185 messages on Twitter and 38
posts on LinkedIn. The waves in September and November also included messages
promoting the BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019. None of the campaign’s material was paid;
a network of multipliers supported the promotion.
On Twitter, the messages generated more than 570 000 views, 2 400 likes, 1 200 retweets
and 28 600 video views. On average they received 33% more likes and 42% more retweets
than regular messages. The two most-viewed messages reached 35 000 and 28 000 views
respectively, while many posts reached 10 000 impressions.
On LinkedIn, the #BBIimpact campaign generated 55 000 views, 1 000 likes, 190 shares
and 1 500 link and user clicks. The messages on this social network also outperformed
the average messages not related to the campaign: 44% more likes, 80% more shares
and 40% more views per post. The two most-viewed messages on LinkedIn reached 3 100
and 2300 views each.
The campaign communicating about the achievements and impact of BBI JU also
included articles in four different outlets: POLITICO.eu81 (over 320 000 views),
81 https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/high-impact-bio-based-initiative-for-a-circular-europe/
153
ScienceBusiness82 (180 reads), Parliament Magazine83 and BioMarketInsights that
featured a first article84 about BBI JU impact, a second85 about the models of circular
economy that BBI JU is helping to build, a third article86 focused on our projects
developing the blue bioeconomy and a fourth87 about the high number of SMEs
participating in the BBI JU programme. The four stories in BioMarketInsights combined
generated more than 6,000 views.
Publications and videos
BBI JU’s publications in 2019 focused on tangible impact and the results of the BBI JU
projects.
BBI JU 2014 – 2019. ACHIEVEMENTS OF A HIGH-IMPACT INITIATIVE FOR THE BIOECONOMY IN EUROPE
This brochure was widely disseminated to all EU-level policymakers and stakeholders and
will be used as a reference document in the coming years. It was also the basis for the
#BBIimpact campaign on social media.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS, STUDIES, ARTICLES AND VIDEOS
Besides the yearly call brochure, in 2019 the Programme Office published brochures
focusing on the Call 2019 and BBI JU projects portfolio. Moreover, BBI JU published three
thematic studies during this year.
BBI JU Publications 2019
Title Link
82 https://sciencebusiness.net/sponsored-report/achievements-high-impact-initiative-circular-europe
83 http://library.myebook.com/theparliament/the-parliament-magazine-issue-501-23-september-2019-
1/1993/#page/27
84 https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-bbi-ju-has-built-the-model-for-the-successful-expansion-of-
europes-growing-bioeconomy/
85 https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-bbi-ju-is-helping-businesses-to-repurpose-waste-to-drive-new-
circular-economic-models/
86 https://biomarketinsights.com/meet-three-european-pioneers-leading-the-blue-bioeconomy-revolution/
87 https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-the-bbi-ju-empowers-smes-across-europe-to-innovate-and-
grow/
154
Contribution of the BBI JU’s
projects to the Sustainable
Development Goals
https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbi-ju-
contribution-to-sdgs.pdf
The BBI JU SME landscape:
driving impact and innovation
https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbiju-sme-
landscape.pdf
Study on the participation of
the agricultural sector in the
BBI JU
https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/Action%20Pla
n%20and%20Study%20Primary%20Sector_publica
tion.pdf
Call for proposals 2019
brochure
https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbi-ju-call-for-
proposals-2019.pdf
BBI JU projects brochure https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbiju-
projects-2019.pdf
BBI JU 2014-2019.
Achievements of a high-impact
initiative for the bioeconomy
in Europe
https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/media/bbi-ju-high-
impact-initiative.pdf
Table 19: BBI JU Publications in 2019
Commissioned articles and publications 2019
Title, Publication Link
Project focus: How BBI JU has
built the model for the
successful expansion of
Europe’s growing bioeconomy.
Bio Market Insights
https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-
bbi-ju-has-built-the-model-for-the-successful-
expansion-of-europes-growing-bioeconomy/
High-impact bio-based
initiative for a circular Europe
POLITICO Europe
https://www.politico.eu/sponsored-content/high-
impact-bio-based-initiative-for-a-circular-europe/
BBI JU 2014-2019: achievements
of a high-impact initiative for
the bioeconomy in Europe
Parliament Magazine
http://library.myebook.com/theparliament/the-
parliament-magazine-issue-501-23-september-
2019-1/1993/#page/27
155
Achievements of a high-impact
initiative for a circular Europe
SciecenBusiness
https://sciencebusiness.net/sponsored-
report/achievements-high-impact-initiative-
circular-europe
Project focus: How BBI JU is
helping businesses to
repurpose waste to drive new
circular economic models.
Bio Market Insights
https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-
bbi-ju-is-helping-businesses-to-repurpose-waste-
to-drive-new-circular-economic-models/
Meet three European pioneers
leading the blue bioeconomy
revolution.
Bio Market Insights
https://biomarketinsights.com/meet-three-
european-pioneers-leading-the-blue-bioeconomy-
revolution/
Project focus: How the BBI JU
empowers SMEs across Europe
to innovate and grow.
Bio Market Insights
https://biomarketinsights.com/project-focus-how-
the-bbi-ju-empowers-smes-across-europe-to-
innovate-and-grow/
Table 20: Commissioned articles and publications in 2019
In addition to publications, BBI JU continued the development of videos presenting the
BBI JU impact and the Stakeholder Forum 2019 (Table 21).
Videos published in
2019
24 short videos for the #BBIimpact campaign videos on
expected socio-economic and environmental impact; key
figures; geographical distribution; results vs. KPIs; and,
types of projects
15 videos for the BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019 promotion
of the registration, the sessions and exhibition
BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019 highlights
Synergy labels: a catalyst for additional funding
opportunities, recording of the session during the R&I Days
Videos initiated in
2019
(to be published in
2020)
BBI JU animated video
BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019 short interviews
Table 21: Videos developed and published in 2019
156
Website, media monitoring, social media and e-newsletter
BBI JU WEBSITE
The BBI JU website continued to be the key reference point for BBI JU’s activities. In 2019,
157 000 (+30% compared to 2018) and 91 000 unique visitors (+51% compared to 2018)
accessed the website, generating total traffic of 693 000 page views (+116% compared to
2018). The most visited page, besides the home page, was on the calls, followed by the
page about the BBI JU projects. It is noteworthy that the majority of visitors arrived on the
website firstly via organic search, secondly via direct search, and thirdly via referral from
third websites. As expected, peaks in the online activity were notable during key BBI JU
events such as the Info Day and after the Stakeholder Forum 2019.
Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the UK and the US were the countries from which
we received most visits. There was an 89% increase of visitors from the US, which
demonstrates a growing interest in BBI JU’s activities overseas.
During 2019, the website was updated with a new Success Stories section featuring
achievements of BBI JU projects. It has received more than 3 000 views since it was
launched in April. The BBI in the media webpage was added to the News section attracting
over 200 visitors since it was created in June. Finally, the project pages have been
improved with a Project achievements & milestones section showcasing relevant project
results.
A website user satisfaction survey of 100 BBI JU stakeholders was carried out in 2019. Its
results show positive feedback, scoring 3.7 on the scale of 5. Most of the users agreed
that the website is readable and contains the information they need. The survey results
will feed into the website revamp project in 2020.
MEDIA MONITORING
During 2019, BBI JU started using the Europe Media Monitor by the Joint Research Centre
to track the mentions on both BBI JU and its projects in the digital media. Initially, the tool
has been set up to look for mentions in English. The set-up of the tool in other languages
has also started.
The results of the monitoring tool have been used for internal control and reports,
creation of content on social media and the ‘BBI in the media’ webpage.
LINKEDIN CORPORATE PAGE & GROUP
157
BBI JU’s increased the frequency of publication of news, events and stories in the BBI JU
LinkedIn profile and group, providing an open forum for discussion and dissemination.
The LinkedIn profile page and group were also two of the channels used to promote the
2018 call and open vacancies.
Currently, the BBI JU profile has over 3 000 followers, which means an increase of more
than 1 900 followers in 2019. The geographical spread of our followers improved from
last year, even though the area of Brussels is still the most represented:
Figure 83: BBI JU LinkedIn followers’ locations
In 2019, BBI JU LinkedIn profile posts reached more than 236 000 views, which means 12
times more views than in 2018. The growth in traffic and followership during the years
proved the effectiveness of the growth strategy on LinkedIn based on the increasing
publication of relevant messages for the bio-based community.
Figure 84: BBI JU LinkedIn visitor metrics
158
Following the 2018 trend, the BBI JU Twitter followers base continued growing in 2019,
reaching 5 000 in December 2019, a 42% increase compared to 2018.
@BBI2020 posted 661 original tweets in addition to several retweets, which resulted in
more than 2 444 100 views, a 65% increase compared to 2018. BBI JU Twitter account
received 4 329 retweets (an 86% increase from 2018). This number represents a very
significant increase in engagement on this social network.
Figure 85: Number of BBI JU Twitter posts retweeted by the account followers
Many original videos have been produced to be posted on social media, for the first time,
leading to increased engagement and followership, which shows the usefulness of this
content strategy.
As expected, there were peaks in BBI JU’s Twitter activity around the Info Day 2019 and
the BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019, as well as during other relevant events (i.e. EU R&I
Days 2019 and EFIB 2019).
YOUTUBE
The BBI JU YouTube account has reached 164 subscribers and registered more than 4
400 video views in 2019. The playlist dedicated to the BBI JU projects has been regularly
updated and now 47 project videos are included in it. Another playlist was created to add
all the videos related to the BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019, which will be updated to
include all the videos produced during the event.
NEWSLETTER
The BBI JU e-newsletter includes information about BBI JU news and activities, highlights
from its projects, new publications, upcoming events and articles. 13 messages were sent
in 2019 reaching 3 000 subscribers.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Retweets
159
The average open rate of the newsletters is 27.5% and the countries with the highest
numbers of subscribers are Belgium (9.8%), Spain (9.1%), Italy (6.9%) and Germany (6.2%).
160
2.2. LEGAL AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK
BBI JU is a Joint Undertaking within the meaning of Article 187 of the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, set up by the Council Regulation (EC) No 560/2014 of
6 May 2014.
On 13 March 2019 the Commission adopted the Model Financial Regulation88 (MFR) for
public-private partnership bodies (PPP bodies) falling under Article 71 of the Financial
Regulation 2018.
In line with Article 60(2) of the MFR 2019, BBI JU revised its financial rules to ensure
compliance with this Regulation and requested derogations and clarifications when
pertinent. The derogations were not granted by DG BUDG and the new financial rules
were adopted at the Governing Board meeting of 12 December 2019. They entered into
force on 1 January 2020, applying to the calls for proposals published in 2020 onwards.
88 Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/887, of 13 March 2019, on the model financial regulation for public-
private partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, C(2019)1875.
161
2.3. BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
OVERVIEW
The Governing Board adopted the original 2019 budget for the BBI JU for the global
amount of EUR 141 297 325 in commitment appropriations (CA) and EUR 199 241 275 in
payment appropriations (PA) in December 2018. In March 2019, the budget was amended
in order to (i) enter the unused CA and PA of administrative expenditure in the estimate
of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years, and to (ii) to
reduce the PA amount of the operational expenditure. The amended budget amounted
to EUR 141 624 199 million in CA and EUR 182 113 587 million in PA.
The overall budget implementation of the total BBI 2019 budget was very good, 87% in
CA and 76% in PA.
The management of BBI JU’s 2019 administrative budget was characterised by the fact
that it was half constituted by appropriations related to the budget year and half by
unused appropriations from previous years.
In contrast to 2018, the BBI JU administrative budget included a relatively large surplus of
unused budget from prior years (mainly 2017 and 2018). Of these unused appropriations,
amounting to EUR 3 022 640 in administrative CA as well as EUR 25 486 657 in operational
and EUR 3 081 421 in administrative PA, part were reactivated in the original voted budget
and part via an amendment to the annual work plan and budget in March 2019. These
reactivated appropriations were consumed in priority in line with BBI’s Financial Rules art.
6(5), and reached almost 100% consumption by year end.
At the end of 2019, there was a surplus of unused CA and PA of around kEUR 494 in
administrative CA and EUR 1.3 million in administrative PA as well as around EUR 17
million in operational CA and EUR 43 million in operational PA. A Governing Board
decision was taken at the end of 2019 to reactivate EUR 1 million in administrative CA and
EUR 1.2 million in administrative PA (both from 2018) as well as EUR 20.4 million in
operational CA and EUR 28.8 million in operational PA in the 2020 budget. The operational
CA include EUR 13.4 million from 2017 and 2018 and the operational PA EUR 7.8 million
from 2018. Further reactivations (covering 2018 and 2019 surpluses) are to be envisaged
in 2020 via a budgetary amendment.
162
Statement of
Revenue Voted budget 2019 Amended budget 2019
Heading
Commitment
appropriations
(in EUR)
Payment
appropriations
(in EUR)
Commitment
appropriations
(in EUR)
Payment
appropriations
(in EUR)
EU contribution
excl. EFTA 133 608 895 163 833 500 133 608 895 145 833 500
Of which
Administrative89 1 184 579 1 184 579 1 184 579 1 184 579
Other
administrative
revenue90
5 234 5 234 5 234 5 234
Of which
Operational 132 424 316 162 648 921 132 424 316 144 648 921
EFTA 3 479 892 4 199 237 3 479 892 4 199 237
Of which
Administrative 28 193 28 193 28 193 28 193
Of which
administrative
third countries
excluding EFTA
300 000 300 000 300 000 300 000
Of which
Operational 3 151 699 3 871 044 3 151 699 3 871 044
Industry
financial (cash)
contribution
1 512 772 3 512 772 1 512 772 3 512 772
Of which
Administrative 1 512 772 1 512 772 1 512 772 1 512 772
Of which
Operational 0 2 000 000 0 2 000 000
SUB-TOTAL
REVENUES 138 606 793 171 550 743 138 606 793 153 550 743
C2 reactivation
of unused
appropriations
from
administrative
expenditure
2 695 766 2 695 766 3 022 640 3 081 421
89 Received EUR 514 632 inc. EFTA and admin third countries excl. EFTA - net of EUR 998 140 retained by the
EC for the REA payment of expert-evaluators of BBI JU's 20198 Call. Of the retained amount, EUR 955 000 was informed as being executed by REA as of beginning 2020.
90 This figure relates to the recovery by BBI, from the other JUs, of costs relating to the inter-joint undertakings’ procedure for Confidential Counsellors, in 2019. It was used to boost the budget line for telecommunications (chapter 24)
163
Of which from
2017 2 395 766 2 395 766 2 564 292 2 781 421
Of which from
2018 300 000 300 000 458 348 300 000
C2 reactivation
of unused
appropriations
from
operational
expenditure
0 25 000 000 0 25 486 657
Of which from
2017 0 0 0 0
Of which from
2018 0 25 000 000 0 25 486 657
SUB-TOTAL
REACTIVATIONS 2 695 766 27 695 766 3 022 640 28 568 078
GRAND TOTAL 141 302 559 199 246 509 141 629 433 182 118 821
Table 22: BBI JU 2019 budget – Statement of Revenue.
164
Statement of Expenditure Amended
budget 2019
(AWP)
Amended
budget 2019
after
transfers
Executed
Budget
2019
% Carry over
to 2020 (C8)
Available
for future
use (N+3
rule) (C2) (Commitment appropriations)
Title 1 - Staff expenditure 3 053 852 3 053 852 2 787 833 91.30% 255 812 266 020
11 Salaries & allowances 2 611 934 2 611 695 2 454 464 93.98% 171 432 157 232
12 Expenditure relating to Staff recruitment 107 508 105 508 10 906 10.40% 5 000 94 602
13 Mission expenses 71 025 73 026 73 026 100.00% 7 154 0
14 Socio-medical infrastructure (incl. training) 246 953 246 953 232 767 94.26% 69 588 14 186
15 Receptions, events and representation 16 432 16 670 16 670 100.00% 2 638 0
Title 2 - Infrastructure and operating expenditure 2 999 566 2 998 714 2 770 969 92.41% 816 544 227 745
20 Rental of buildings and associated costs 318 974 326 588 314 087 96.17% 10 023 12 501
21 Information, communication technology and data
processing
254 721 306 493 293 221 95.67% 108 970 13 272
22 Movable property and associated costs 5,000 5 000 4 172 83.40% 0 828
23 Current administrative expenditure 38 347 22 245 21 155 95.10% 6 239 1 090
24 Postage / Telecommunications 22 755 22 686 20 225 89.15% 6 737 2 461
25 Expenditure on formal meetings 160 104 118 899 43 821 36.85% 1 500 75 079
26 External communication information and publishing 853 210 797 207 733 155 91.97% 588 101 64 052
165
27 Service contracts 155 000 155 000 96 538 62.28% 24 120 58 462
28 Experts contracts and evaluations91 900 000 998 140 998 140 100.00% 0 0
29 Expert reviewers 291 455 246 455 246 455 100.00% 70 854 0
Title 3 - Operational expenditure 135 576 015 135 576 867 118 229 682 87.20% 0 0
30 Previous years’ Calls 197 442 860 20 443 582
31 Current year’s Call 135 576 015 135 576 867 118 229 682 87.20% 139 145 888 17 347 185
TOTAL 141 629 433 141 629 433 123 788 484 87.40% 337 661 104 38 284 532
Table 23: BBI JU 2019 budget – Statement of Expenditure (commitment appropriations).
91 For chapter 28, the commitment of EUR 998 140 relates to the total amount retained by RTD (from its contribution to the administrative expenditure of the BBI JU) and co-
delegated to the REA for its contracting and payment of the expert-evaluators of BBI's 2019 call for proposals. The most recent estimate of the payment execution on this commitment was only notified by the REA in early January and amounts to around EUR 955 000. Taking this into account, the execution of the chapter becomes 95.68%, the total Title 2 % is 90.97% and the overall execution is reduced to 87.37%.
166
Statement of Expenditure Amended
Budget 2019
Amended
budget 2019
after
transfers
Executed
Budget 2019 %
Available for
future use
(N+3 rule)
(C2) (Payment appropriations)
Title 1 - Staff expenditure 3 154 012 3 154 012 2 575 348 81.65% 578 664
11 Salaries & allowances 2 758 350 2 739 113 2 294 334 83.76% 444 779
12 Expenditure relating to Staff recruitment 92 471 92 471 5 986 32.29% 86 485
13 Mission expenses 60 000 70 000 67 490 96.41% 2 510
14 Socio-medical infrastructure (incl. training) 233 191 237 691 193 505 81.41% 44 186
15 Receptions, events and representation 10,000 14 737 14 033 95.22% 704
Title 2 - Infrastructure and operating expenditure 2 958 187 2 957 335 2 175 051 73.55% 782 284
20 Rental of buildings and associated costs 316 184 327 131 312 373 95.49% 14 758
21 Information, communication technology and data processing 256 369 298 055 249 428 83.62% 48 627
22 Movable property and associated costs 11 319 10 820 7 329 67.74% 3 491
23 Current administrative expenditure 40 620 40 658 29 698 65.66% 10 960
24 Postage / Telecommunications 20 034 20 054 19 181 95.65% 873
25 Expenditure on formal meetings 113,000 101 553 43 560 42.89% 57 993
26 External communication information and publishing 838 572 748 834 174 480 23.30% 574 354
167
27 Service Contracts 155 000 155 000 124 918 80.59% 30 082
28 Experts contracts and evaluations92 900 000 998 140 998 140 100.00% 0
29 Expert reviewers 307 089 257 090 215 944 84.00% 41 146
Title 3 - Operational expenditure 176 006 622 176 007 474 133 417 722 75.80% 42 589 752
30 Previous years’ Calls 176 006 622 176 007 474 133 417 722 75.80% 42 589 752
TOTAL 182 118 821 182 118 821 138 168 121 75.87% 43 950 700
Table 24: BBI JU 2019 budget – Statement of Expenditure (payment appropriations).
92 See note 58 to the commitment appropriations table. Per late communication from REA the payment execution was EUR 707,735. This would make the execution of the
budget line 68.90%, of the total Title 2, 62.71% and of the overall total, 70.55%
168
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
The total consumption of the (amended) administrative budget was 92% in CA and 78%
in PA.
Title 1: Staff related costs such as salaries, other staff costs and missions showed a strong
execution in CA (94%, 90% and 100% respectively) representing a significant amount of
around EUR 2.8 million. Overall the execution of CA in Title 1 is 91% and in PA 82% of the
amended administrative budget.
169
Title 2: The infrastructure budget achieved an execution of 92% in the CA of the amended
2019 budget. Communication, building costs and contracting of experts incurred the
highest costs in 2019, amounting to EUR 733k, EUR 314k and EUR 998k respectively. The
budget related to the evaluators’ contracting and payment was executed by the Research
Executive Agency on behalf of BBI JU.93 Underspending was recorded for formal meetings
(37%), for which the reimbursements were much lower than anticipated and
studies/consultancy (62%) for which a large amount was budgeted for a study, and the
actual costs was half the forecast amount. The overall PA consumption in Title 2 is 74%
of the amended 2019 budget. The following graph of the voted budget over the last three
years demonstrates a clear progression in consumption levels, confirming also a more
accurate budgeting process.
Figure 86: budgetary consumption against the voted budget (2015-2019).
In terms of the time to pay on the administrative budget, the Programme Office executed
836 payments of which 91% were within the time limit. An analysis of the delayed
payments has been carried out and most of them are due to the learning curve of
newcomers; a corrective action has been put in place and in the second part of the year,
the delays decreased dramatically. The average time to pay on these transactions was
17.3 days, against a target of 30 days, showing some progress compared to the previous
year.
OPERATIONAL COSTS
93 EUR 998 140 was committed by the REA in 2019, transferred by the EC on behalf of BBI JU for the
management and payment of the BBI JU experts-evaluators for its Call for proposals 2019. The provisional
execution to date of these appropriations was notified by REA in mid-January 2019, is EUR 945 082 with further
payments possibly due.
63.5%
77.7%88.6% 85.9% 97.0%
63.0%
73.0%84.0% 83.9%
83.0%
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
120.0%
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Budget execution compared to voted budget
CAs PAs
170
Concerning the CA of the operational budget, the Programme Office concluded 19 grant
agreements from Call 2018 for a total grant value of EUR 102 881 595 resulting in a 89%
execution of CA envisaged for this Call (EUR 115 597 298).
The 2019 call was committed for EUR 118 229 682. The evaluation was successfully
concluded by the end of 2019, resulting in a potential consumption of 87% if all grants
are signed in 2020.
In respect of the PA, the Programme Office achieved a 76% execution of the 2019 budget,
with pre-financing payments for the grants of Call 2018 together with payments of
periodic reports for grants from the previous BBI JU Calls. The execution progressed
compared to the previous year despite delays with some periodic reports and the
amounts of certain cost claims being below the anticipated level.
19 pre-financings were paid for a total amount of EUR 82 305 276. The pre-financing rates
were increased to 80% of the maximum grant amount in order to maximise the budget
execution and utilise the large cash surplus remaining at year end.
Regarding the payment of the periodic reports, BBI JU Programme Office dealt with 44
periodic reports claiming a total contribution of EUR 70 429 265, which led to 43 payments
in 2019 for a total of EUR 51 111 593.
Additional information is available under section 1.6 Operational budget execution.
171
2.4. PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS
In 2019, BBI JU continued its policy of exploiting as much as possible the existing
framework contracts at the level of the European Commission. When these contracts
were not available to BBI JU or they had expired, it was necessary to launch specific tender
procedures, most of them for low-value contracts.
BBI JU also signed specific contracts under the framework contracts jointly managed with
the other JUs present in the White Atrium, namely for common IT services and for the
hiring of interim staff.
In addition, throughout 2019, BBI JU used Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in force with
the European Commission for purchasing supplies and services, notably through OIB and
DG HR.
Several other contracts were concluded for less than EUR 15 000 each, while the following
table shows contracts concluded in 2019 for single amounts higher than EUR 15 000:
Contractor
Fra
mew
ork
cont
ract
Y/N
Tender procedure Subject of the
contract Signature
date
Amoun
t (in
EUR)
PharmaABC N Negotiated
procedure with
three contractors
Partnering
Platform 01/03/2017 15,000
Start People Y Various specific
contracts under a
framework contract Interim Staff various 78986
Randstad Y Various specific
contracts under a
framework contract Interim Staff various 212,883
PKF
Littlejohn Y
Specific contract
under framework
contract
Audit of BBI JU
accounts 2018-
2019 13/12/2018
31,500
paid in
2018
(Total
52,500)
172
Innovarum
(Eurizon S.L) N
Negotiated
procedure with
three contractors
Study on the
participation of
the Agricultural
Sector in the BBI
JU: business
models,
challenges and
recommendation
s to enhance the
impact on rural
development
22/03/2019 92,038
VO event Y Specific contract
under framework
contract
Venue and
Organisation BBI
JU Stake Holder
Forum 2019
15/05/2019 390,220
Table 25: Contracts over EUR 15 000 made in 2019.
173
2.5. IT AND LOGISTICS
IT TOOLS
In 2019 the Programme Office implemented the European Commission’s mission
management tool ’MIPS’, as well as the online booking tool ‘NEO’, with the aim of having
comprehensive and efficient tools supporting business travel, in line with the European
Commission’s standards and regulations.
The BBI JU also implemented the European Commission’s e-Invoicing solution. This
platform enables suppliers to submit electronic invoices in a secure and reliable way. The
system is also linked with the financial tool, reducing the work of the team to encode the
invoices, helps respect deadlines imposed by the Financial Regulations and also
eliminates the risk of human error.
ICT INFRASTRUCTURE
Two meeting rooms were equipped with a high-quality audio-visual and conferencing
platform. This flexible system permits the joining/merging of meeting spaces. New
projectors and portable monitors, wireless conference devices were also added. The new
facilities have been very well appreciated and extensively used. It has resulted in a big
reduction in the cost and disruption of frequently renting such equipment. The project
has been such a success that a new upgrade is already planned to extend the system to
the other meeting rooms.
The BBI JU and the other JUs located in the White Atrium building have launched a project
to renew the now obsolete and out-of-support wired and wireless network infrastructure
currently installed in the building. In the last quarter of 2019, the orders were signed with
the aim of having the new system operational by the end of the Easter holidays. The new
platform will facilitate a smoother user experience both for staff members and visitors,
while improving the security of the overall ICT infrastructure.
LOGISTICS
Thanks to the good collaboration established with the Commission services, the
Programme Office increased the use of tools and services provided by the Office for
Infrastructure and Logistics (OIB). Following the trend established in 2017, the
Programme Office also used a greater number of corporate framework contracts for
example for office supplies, catering and furniture.
174
2.6. HUMAN RESOURCES
STAFF AND RECRUITMENT
By the end of 2019, the BBI JU Programme Office comprised 22 staff members. Two
recruitment procedures were launched in 2019 for the post of Financial Assistant (CA)
and for the post of Assistant Call Coordinator (TA).
The BBI JU Programme Office was reinforced with one Communication Officer (TA) and
two Financial Assistants in 2019. In addition, following the resignation of three staff
members, candidates for the position of Communication officer (TA), Assistant Call
Coordinator (TA) and Project Officer (CA) were appointed at the end of 2019 and will take
up their duties in the first quarter of 2020.
In order to cope with the peak period of workload, BBI JU concluded – via the EC
framework contract for interim services - several short-term contracts for interim services
to address specific needs of the Programme Office.
BBI JU also gave the opportunity to two trainees to acquire a first-hand experience in the
BBI JU framework. The main objective of the programme is to provide the trainees with a
high-quality experience that enriches the professional profile of the laureate while
providing a first insight into the objectives and activities of the BBI JU. One trainee joined
the Programme Unit for a period of 6 months and another one joined the Communication
team for a period of 6 months.
The two graphs below show both the gender and geographical balance within BBI JU on
31/12/2019. The Programme Office pays attention to ensuring the widest representation
of EU countries among its staff.
175
Figure 87: gender balance of the BBI JU programme team by 31/12/2019.
Figure 88: EU countries represented among BBI JU staff by 31/12/2019.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
In 2019, the HR function continued to strengthen the legal framework of the BBI JU,
focusing on how implementing rules of the European Commission shall apply to BBI JU.
In that respect, in 2019 the BBI JU Governing Board adopted the implementing rules listed
below:
Employment of contract agents;
16
6
BBI Staff - gender balance
Female representation Male representation
4 4
5
1 1
3
1
2
1
BE EL ES HU HR IT PT RO UK
BBI Staff - Nationalities
176
Outside activities;
Types of post and post titles.
In addition, the BBI JU officially joined the EU “Back to School” and “Back to University”
initiatives. These are pan-European initiatives whereby European Union staff go back to
secondary schools or universities in their home country and talk about their work and
experiences within the EU. It aims to give young people the chance to learn about first-
hand experiences of the European project and for EU staff to become the 'face' of Europe
for a day.
EU officials share their personal experience with students and discuss a variety of topics
related to the European Union. It offers young people an opportunity to openly discuss
cross-border topics with someone “on the inside” of the EU institutions, to take part in a
debate about the European project, to freely express their views and to be heard. The
positive feedback from students and teachers after visits from EU staff shows the
tremendous value of this face-to-face approach in raising awareness about how the EU
is present in our daily lives.
The BBI JU organised its annual appraisal and reclassification exercises resulting in the
reclassification of four staff members.
LEARNING AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
The BBI JU values the continuous development of its staff in order to ensure that staff
members are competent in their roles and can cope with the demanding working
environment. In 2019 the HR function developed a Learning and Development
Framework taking into consideration the BBI JU’s annual objectives.
A Service Level Agreement in force with the European Commission provided access to a
wide catalogue of training courses and ad hoc learning opportunities have been
constantly communicated to staff members across the year. In addition, several in-house
training activities and workshops were organised as well as teambuilding activities.
Team coaching and highly recommended trainings for key functions have been also
organised.
3. GOVERNANCE
179
3.1. GOVERNING BOARD
The Governing Board has overall responsibility for the strategic orientation and the
operations of the BBI JU and shall supervise the implementation of its activities, in
accordance with Article 7 of the BBI JU Statutes94.
The Governing Board includes five representatives of the BIC and five representatives of
the EC.
During 2019, there were several changes of positions in both the EC and BIC
memberships. As of the last meeting in 12 December 2019, the composition of the
Governing Board was:
EC (As designated by their post
according to Commission Decision
4255 (2014) of 27 June, as amended by
the Commission Decisions 3268 (2016)
of 6 June 2016 and 1811 (2017) of 23
March 2017))
BIC constituent entities
Wolfgang BURTSCHER, Deputy Director-
General, DG RTD (Chair)
John BELL, Director for "Healthy Planet",
DG RTD/C
Carlo PETTINELLI, Director for "Chemicals
and Consumer Industries", DG GROW/D
Peter DROELL, Director for "Industrial
Technologies", DG RTD/F
Nathalie SAUZE-VANDEVYVER, Director
for "Quality Policy, Research &
Innovation, Outreach”, DG AGRI/B
Mat QUAEDVLIEG, Manufacturing SFPE,
Vice-President Strategic Business Project,
SAPPI (Vice-Chair)
Gloria GAUPMANN, Head of Public
Affairs, Technology and Innovation,
CLARIANT
Hans KEUKEN, CEO Process Design
Center
Alex MICHINE, CEO METGEN
Bill MORRISSEY, Bioeconomy programme
manager, GLANBIA
Table 26: Members of the Governing Board as at 12/12/2019.
In 2019, four ordinary meetings took place: 28 March, 20 June, 10 October and 12
December.
94 Annex to the Council Regulation.
180
The decisions taken by the GB during 2019 respected the indicative timetable set out in
the AWP and were the following:
Decision approving the guidance for the planning, reporting and
certification of the in-kind contributions for Additional Activities within the
BBI Initiative.
Decision adopting the IKAA plan 2019;
Decision adopting the amendment to the AWP and Budget 2019
Decision amending the Governing Board Decision BBI-GB-03/15 on the
adoption by analogy of rules on outside activities and assignments and on
occupational activities after leaving Service.
Decision on the types of post and post titles in BBI JU.
Decision approving the Annual Activity Report 2018;
Opinion on BBI JU Annual Accounts 2018;
Decision nominating the reporting officers in charge of the annual
appraisal of the Executive Director;
Decision on the general provisions for implementing Article 78(2) of the
Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union,
governing the conditions of employment of contract staff employed under
the terms of Article 3a thereof;
Decision on the request for the Commission agreement to the non-
application by analogy of Commission Decision C(2019)4231 of 12 June
2019 laying down the general implementation provision on the conduct of
administrative inquiries and disciplinary proceedings;
Decision adopting the AWP and Budget 2020;
181
Decision on approving the ranking list of the proposals selected for
funding, to be placed on a reserve list and to be rejected pursuant to the
2019 call for proposals.
Decision adopting the Financial Rules of the BBI JU
UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION PLAN ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE BBI JU INTERIM EVALUATION
Article 11 of the Council Regulation 560/2014 sets out that “by 30 June 2017 the European
Commission (EC) shall carry out, with the assistance of independent experts, an interim
evaluation of the BBI JU”. The interim evaluation report95 of BBI JU was published in
October 2017.
The interim evaluation report provided a set of recommendations aiming at improving
BBI JU’s functioning and the continuous delivery of solid outputs towards set objectives,
including the contribution of its members.
In response to these recommendations and as a concluding step in the evaluation
process, an Action Plan was drafted in close cooperation between the responsible
Commission services, the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and the BBI JU. On 21
March 2018 the Governing Board of the BBI JU adopted the ‘Action Plan in response to
the recommendations of the interim evaluation of the BBI JU’96 which includes a set of
specific action points that correspond to the recommendations provided by the interim
evaluation report as well as the status for each of the actions.
BBI JU is monitoring the implementation of the action plan, confirming that the majority
of actions were followed up according to the agreed deadlines whereas others were still
ongoing
95https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/eebcfc39-ae32-11e7-837e-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
96https://www.bbi-
europe.eu/sites/default/files/action_plan_in_response_to_the_recommendations_of_the_interim_evaluation_of_the_bbiju.pdf
182
3.2. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Executive Director is the chief executive responsible for the day-to-day management
of the BBI JU in accordance with the decisions of the Governing Board. Mr Philippe Mengal
has been Executive Director of the Programme Office since 1 October 2015.
Each year the Executive Director presents his proposals of priorities for the coming year
to the Governing Board. The priorities are translated into yearly objectives for the BBI JU
programme team and then cascaded into individual objectives for all staff members
according to the SMART97 principles.
For 2019, the priorities and objectives were presented to the BBI JU Governing Board at
the meeting held on 13 June 2018. The priorities were mainly about consolidating the
project portfolio whilst maintaining the highest standards of quality and implementing
the adjustments recommended following the BBI JU interim evaluation. Another
important priority of 2019 was to contribute to the discussion on Horizon Europe, by
building on the lessons learnt from both the implementation of Horizon 2020 and the
impact of the initiative as an iPPP.
The 2019 objectives were organised around four priorities detailed below:
Keep BBI JU operational standards at the highest quality and ensure
efficiency to absorb the peak of workload;
Analyse and communicate the impact and the added value of the BBI JU
iPPP and its project portfolio to a wide audience of stakeholders;
Implement the adjustments to the project portfolio following the
recommendations of the BBI JU interim evaluation, while maintaining all its
recognised key strengths;
Contribute to the discussions on Horizon Europe in terms of Missions and
Objectives, and in terms of the operational functioning of BBI JU as
implementing body, by building on the lessons learnt from the
implementation of Horizon 2020.
For 2020, the Executive Director and his management team proposed four priorities to
the Governing Board meeting held on 20 June 2019. They were identified by the
management team taking into account the following considerations:
97 Specific, Measurable, Accepted, Realistic and Time-related
183
The future of the initiative under CBE will have a great impact on the further
definition of 2020 objectives
Considering BBI JU has one more call to implement and the fact that 2021
will be the first year of Horizon Europe implementation, whatever the form
of the future partnership around bio-based industries, 2020 will be an
important year of transition.
BBI JU continues to be faced with the challenge of absorbing a growing
workload while keeping high-quality standards. 2020 is expected to be the
peak of the workload under the current mandate of BBI JU.
BBI JU is a mature organisation. Consolidating the current strengths
remains a challenge, while maintaining the performance level during the
transition phase.
Throughout a culture of continuous improvement, the Programme Office
continues to consolidate some processes while implementing corrective
actions where needed. In addition, the reporting landscape is further
elaborated to ensure effective demonstration and communication about
the achievements and overall impact of the initiative.
The four priorities for 2020 are as follows:
Keep BBI JU operational standards at the highest quality and ensure
efficiency to absorb the peak of workload;
Prepare the transition of BBI JU towards Horizon Europe (HEU) whatever is
the future of a partnership around bio-based industries;
Continue to analyse and amplify the communication on the actual and
expected impact of BBI JU and its project portfolio to a wide audience of
stakeholders;
Contribute to the discussions on Horizon Europe from the perspective of
the operational functioning of BBI JU as implementing body by building on
the lessons learnt from the implementation of H2020.
The Executive Director and his management team have incorporated these priorities in
the AWP 2020 as a basis for the non-topic text and the administrative budget. They will
be cascaded into BBI JU Programme Office objectives and further into individual
objectives for the Programme Office staff by the end of February 2020.
184
3.3. STATES REPRESENTATIVES GROUP
The SRG is an advisory body of the BBI JU established in accordance with the BBI JU
Regulation98 and it represents the interests of Member States and associated countries
under Horizon 2020. Its members provide advice to the Governing Board on the
programme progress and achievement of its targets. It also provides advice on the
definition of the SOs for the programme and the AWP. The SRG also has an important
role in reporting on national activities and programmes related to the deployment of the
bio-based industrial sector at national level, in order to promote synergies and
complementarities with the programme, which operates at European level.
Figure 89 shows the status of the representation of Member States and associated
countries linked to Horizon 2020 in the SRG as of 31/12/2019. The SRG covers a broad
geographical area, in spite of the fact that currently two Member States and eight
associated countries have not yet nominated a representative. The current members of
the States Representatives Group were published in the BBI JU website99.
Figure 90: SRG members from EU MS (dark blue) and associated countries (light blue) as of 31/12/2019.
98 For the role of the SRG see art 11 of the Statutes of the BBI JU annexed to Council Regulation.
99 https://www.bbi-europe.eu/about/states-representatives-group
185
STATES REPRESENTATIVES GROUP MEETINGS IN 2019
During 2019, two ordinary meetings of the SRG were organised by the Programme Office,
on 16 May 2019 and 3 October 2019. In addition, an extraordinary meeting was organised
on 7 February 2019 via video conference.
The meetings were chaired by Fabio Fava (Chair of the SRG and representative of Italy)
and they were also attended by the Chair of the Scientific Committee, the BBI JU Executive
Director, BIC, the European Commission and by some BBI JU staff. The Chair of the
Governing Board participated in the first ordinary meeting of the year.
The extraordinary meeting that took place on 7 February 2019 was organised upon
request of the SRG Chair having first informed the BBI JU Governing Board. The meeting
addressed the role and needs of the SRG members as ambassadors in supporting the
continuation of BBI JU under Horizon Europe.
During 2019, the SRG made valuable contributions to the strategic orientation of the
programme and the development of the AWP 2020, providing recommendations on both
the preliminary and final drafts of the 2020 AWP. The SRG also supported other
programme-related activities by issuing concrete recommendations on various issues
such as the monitoring of impacts and achievements, good practices to enhance
participation in the BBI JU Initiative, communication and information activities to improve
the information received by applicants as well as synergies and complementarities.
During 2019, the SRG was very active in performing actions to support the deployment of
the programme at national level. Information about national activities was shared among
SRG members and with BBI JU and its members during both meetings.
Since the establishment of the BBI JU in 2014, a questionnaire has been used to gather
information in advance of the meetings and to facilitate the exchange of information
between SRG members and with BBI JU and its partners (the EC and the BIC). Since 2017,
this practice has been integrated into a broader initiative, and the SRG reports this
information through a joint initiative coordinated by the JRC as the coordinator of the
European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy (BKC). In the context of this
joint initiative, JRC, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the BBI JU joined forces to
launch a survey to understand the status of policies and strategies and other activities
taken at a national level on the bioeconomy. In 2019, SRG members contributed to the
survey, providing examples of good practices and lessons learnt by the SRG in supporting
the deployment of the BBI JU programme and enhancing its impact at national level.
Finally, in 2019 the SRG played a pivotal role as BBI JU’s ambassador towards the future
of the partnership under Horizon Europe. In particular, SRG members have provided
relevant information, when needed, to national authorities, including the national
delegates dealing with Horizon Europe and the future partnerships in the Council and
186
other stakeholders. Moreover SRG members have continued mobilising national
stakeholders to ensure their maximum involvement with the BBI JU and its impact. The
SRG has also provided advice to BIC in the preparation of the strategic documents for the
future of BBI JU under Horizon Europe, including BIC Vision 2050 and SIRA 2030.
The main items addressed during the three SRG meetings are presented below:
EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE SRG ORGANISED ON 7 FEBRUARY 2019
Role and needs of the SRG members in supporting the continuation of BBI
JU under Horizon Europe. The Chair of the SRG consulted the SRG in
advance of the meeting, via a questionnaire, about the SRG’s needs and
expectations for the extraordinary meeting and its expectations for a
future potential partnership. The outcomes of the survey were used to
prepare the agenda of the meeting and to identify in advance the main
areas of support needed to perform their role as BBI JU ambassadors
under Horizon Europe preparations.
Status and next steps of the decision-making process for Horizon Europe,
including relevant aspects for the future of the BBI JU, as well as a summary
of the BBI JU’s main achievements and impacts obtained so far.
Discussion on information needs, including periodic updates on the status
of the Horizon Europe progress and “information packs” per country
(country-based information) to be used to efficiently advise national
representatives involved in the Horizon Europe negotiations and other
relevant national industrial stakeholders, as and when needed.
The SRG also shared its preliminary ideas on its vision towards the future
of the BBI JU under Horizon Europe, including lessons learnt and areas of
improvement to be considered in the potential future partnership.
10TH MEETING OF THE SRG HELD ON 16 MAY 2019:
Election of a new Vice Chair, Agata Foks (representative from Poland), for
the forthcoming two years. The Vice Chair, Niels Gøtke (representative from
Denmark) finished his mandate after serving the SRG for the maximum
time allowed (two years of regular mandate plus two years of extension).
Information to the SRG on the programme progress towards the
achievement of its targets, including information on: the Call 2018
evaluation results; presentation of outputs, achievements and impacts
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between 2014-2018; the status of BBI JU horizontal activities (including the
outcomes of the study on the participation of SMEs; the synergy label pilot
project; the activities taken to support synergies with SPIRE and other
initiatives, and the preparation of a study on the participation of the
agricultural sector); and the overview of important communication and
dissemination activities, including presentation of the preparatory actions
towards the Stakeholder Forum organised in December 2019.
Update from European Commission on Horizon Europe preparations,
including the procedure on the impact assessment on potential
institutionalised European partnerships as well as the status of the Circular
Bioeconomy thematic investment platform (TIP100).
Update from BIC on BBI JU related activities, including information on the
BIC Vision 2050 and the status of the SIRA development; status of BIC
membership and BIC board composition; presentation of analysis on end-
user participation in projects; status of preparation of country reports; and
presentation of the development of a bioeconomy investment platform.
Discussion with the SRG on the first draft of the 2020 AWP (core of the
topics) presented by BIC. The SC Chair shared with the SRG the summary
of the discussions held during the SC meeting. The recommendations of
the SRG were delivered in due time after the meeting according to the
planning.
EC, BIC and BBI JU presented their points of view and proposed activities
towards the future of the BBI JU in the context of the Horizon Europe
preparations. The SRG also shared informally its points of view on the
national positions towards a European Partnership.
The SRG shared information on national activities to deploy and support
the development of the bio-based industrial sector.
Areas of cooperation SCAR-BBI JU, including presentation of the outcomes
of the workshop organised on clusters on March 2019.
11TH MEETING OF THE SRG HELD ON 3 OCTOBER 2019:
The SRG received updates on the progress and achievements of the BBI JU
programme since the previous meeting, including: information on the 2020
BBI JU objectives, impacts and achievements since the beginning of the
initiative; activities on synergies with other related programmes; update on
100 European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF)
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the synergy label project; outcomes of the study on the agricultural sector
and the action plan; updates on the SME report; presentation of the report
on the contribution of BBI JU projects to sustainable development goals
(SDGs); activities related to the digital agenda; and the update on the last
and upcoming communication and dissemination activities.
The SRG received information on the submission statistics of Call 2019 and
funded projects since the first call.
The SRG discussed the third draft of the 2020 AWP. The draft was
presented by BIC. The SC Chair shared with the SRG the summary of the
discussions held during the SC meeting. The recommendations were
delivered promptly by the SRG after the meeting.
The EC provided SRG members with information on BBI JU-related
activities: Horizon Europe preparations update, including the status of the
impact assessment on potential institutionalised partnerships, and the
status of the Circular Bioeconomy thematic investment platform (TIP).
BIC provided SRG members with information on BBI JU-related activities:
information on the evolution of BIC membership; situation of country
reports; status of SIRA 2030 and Vision 2050; status of bioeconomy
investment platform.
EC, BIC and BBI JU presented their points of view and proposed activities
towards the future of the BBI JU in the context of the Horizon Europe
preparations.
SRG members shared information about national activities on deployment,
communication and dissemination at national level.
Activities taken to explore areas of cooperation within Bioeconomy
Strategy Working Group (BSW) under SCAR and BBI JU, including the
organisation of thematic workshops in 2020.
A secure dedicated member area for the States Representatives Group has been used
throughout 2019 to distribute and archive all related background documents, agendas
and presentations as well as meeting minutes and recommendations.
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3.4. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
The Scientific Committee (SC) is an advisory body of the BBI JU, established in accordance
with the BBI JU Regulation and supporting the BBI JU by providing scientific advice on the
areas of work undertaken by the BBI JU, such as the scientific priorities to be addressed
in the AWPs, as well as providing guidance to the programme implementation.
The SC is currently composed of 14 members - listed in Table 27 - who have expertise in
scientific, technological, socio-economic and environmental subjects relevant to the bio-
based industries. These fields of expertise include: technical expertise in biorefinery
technologies, microbiology, chemistry, biocatalysis and enzymes, industrial
biotechnology and agricultural and forest sciences, aquaculture, synthetic biology, waste,
logistics; environmental, social and economic sustainability; international cooperation
and regional dimension; investment and financial sectors; knowledge transfer and
dissemination and social sciences.
Ms. Johanna Buchert informed BBI JU that due to other professional commitments she
would no longer be able to be a member of the SC. The SC members will be replaced and
renewed following the rules established in the BBI JU Council Regulation.
Name Role in SC Position
Kevin O’Connor Chair Director
Bioeconomy Research Centre (UCD), Ireland
Lene Lange Vice-Chair
Research Leader
Head of Enzyme Discovery Technical University
of Denmark (DTU)
Bruno Jarry Member Vice-President
French National Academy of Technologies
Calliope
Panoutsou Member
Senior Research Fellow
Imperial College London
Christian Huyghe Member Scientific Director Agriculture
INRA-France
Dagmar Stengel Member
Senior Lecturer / Head of Botany and Plant
Science at the National University of Ireland
Galway (NUI Galway)
Joe Gallagher Member Institute Director of Knowledge Exchange and
Commercialisation, Aberystwyth University
Helena Vieira Member Invited Associated Professor
Faculty of Sciences of University of Lisbon
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Lígia Rodrigues Member Professor / Assistant professor
University of Minho, Portugal
Lígia O. Martins Member
Assistant Professor
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica –
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Mariya Marinova Member
Ph.D., P.Eng. Adjunct Professor
Department of Wood and Forest Sciences,
Laval University, Quebec, Canada
Sigurjon Arason Member Professor / chief engineer
University of Iceland / Matis Ohf
Uffe Bundgaard-
Jørgensen Member CEO InvestorNet-Gate2Growth, Ph.D
Yvonne Van der
Meer Member
Dr. ir. Associate / Professor
Maastricht University
Table 27: Members of the BBI JU SC 101
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN 2019
The SC met twice during 2019, on 15 May and 2 October. Kevin O’Connor, Chair of the SC,
chaired both meetings. Different members from the BBI JU Governing Board, BIC and the
EC, BBI JU’s Executive Director and staff attended both meetings.
The SC provided valuable advice on the first and third drafts of the AWP 2020, and both
general and topic-specific recommendations were presented to the BBI JU Programme
Office, BIC and EC. As a follow-up, BIC and EC, responsible for the definition of the AWP
2020, provided feedback to the Programme Office and the SC members on how these
recommendations would be included in the final version of the AWP 2020.
BBI JU presented all the activities related to the BBI programme implementation, such as
call submission and evaluation results, analysis of BBI JU’s projects portfolio, KPI & impact
monitoring and assessment, communication activities or synergies with other
programmes. BBI JU informed and consulted the SC on different studies, such as the
study on the participation of primary producers in the BBI JU programme, the
participation of SMEs in BBI JU projects or the contribution of BBI JU projects to the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among others.
101 SC members’ CV can be found here: https://www.bbi-europe.eu/about/scientific-committee
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SC members discussed the information provided by EC and BIC on the BBI JU- related
activities:
BIC informed the SC members on the development state of play of Vision
2050 and the SIRA 2030 and involved them in consultations to provide
feedback on these strategic documents. In addition, BIC provided updates
on the other activities, such as country reports, regional platforms and the
evolution of BIC membership.
The EC updated the SC members about the preparatory activities for
Horizon Europe, the impact assessment of the potential European
partnerships within Horizon Europe and information on the Circular
Bioeconomy Thematic Investment Platform (TIP), among other BBI JU
related activities. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) joined one of the SC
meetings and provided an update on the ongoing activities of the JRC
Knowledge Centre for the Bioeconomy, as a starting point for a potential
future collaboration with JRC in matters of common interest.
SC members had a crucial role in the discussion about the future of BBI JU
within the Horizon Europe programme, and identified the institutional
public-private partnership as the most suitable instrument to continue
contributing to the development of sustainable and competitive bio-based
industries in Europe.
The main subjects discussed during both meetings are presented below.
10TH MEETING OF THE SC HELD ON 15 MAY 2019
Presentation of the BBI programme progress and achievements. These
include: Call 2018 evaluation results; outputs, achievements and impacts
so far (2014-2018); follow-up on horizontal activities (i.e. study on the
participation of SMEs; synergy label pilot project; synergies with SPIRE and
other initiatives, study on the participation of the agricultural sector);
communication and dissemination activities, including debriefing on the
Info Day 2019 and presentation of the forthcoming Stakeholder Forum in
December 2019.
Update from EC on the status of Horizon Europe, the impact assessment
on potential institutionalised European partnerships under Horizon
Europe and the Circular Bioeconomy TIP.
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Update from BIC on BBI JU related activities, including information on the
Vision 2050 and the status on the SIRA development, BIC membership, BIC
board composition, end-user participation in projects, update on country
reports and presentation of the development of a regional platform.
Presentation of the first draft of the AWP 2020 in relation to the Priority
Paper 2020.
Discussion of the consolidated feedback from SC to the first draft of the
AWP 2020 topic text.
11TH MEETING OF THE SC HELD ON 2 OCTOBER 2019
Presentation of BBI JU on the programme progress and achievements since
the previous meeting. The presentation contained information on outputs
and impacts, status of project portfolio, submission statistics from Call
2019, communication activities, and horizontal activities (study on the
agricultural sector, SME report, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
report, synergies and digital agenda).
Presentation of the third draft of AWP 2020; discussion of the feedback
provided by SC members to the AWP 2020 draft 3.
Update from EC on the status of Horizon Europe, the impact assessment
on potential institutionalised European partnerships under Horizon
Europe and the status of the Circular Bioeconomy TIP.
Update from BIC on BBI JU related activities, including information on the
evolution of BIC membership, situation of country reports, status of the
SIRA 2030 and the Vision 2050
Update on the current activities of the JRC Knowledge Centre for the
Bioeconomy by JRC colleagues.
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4. INTERNAL CONTROL FRAMEWORK
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BBI JU adopted its Internal Control Framework in September 2015 in order to provide
reasonable assurance to the Governing Board regarding the achievement of its
objectives. This framework involves all the measures taken to ensure that:
The BBI JU meets its objectives defined in the AWP using the adequate
human and financial resources and avoiding misuse.
The BBI JU operates fully in accordance with all legal and regulatory
requirements.
The Programme Office management produces regular, reliable and easily
accessible management information on financial management, use of
resources and progress on the achievement of operational objectives.
The Programme Office management takes the necessary measures to
ensure the completeness and preserve the integrity of the data on which
management decisions are taken and reports are issued.
All Programme Office management processes and functions meet these
four objectives, meaning that the largest possible preventive, detective and
corrective controls are in place.
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4.1. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES
Financial procedures are established in the BBI JU Manual of Financial Procedures
adopted in October 2015. This document was updated during the first quarter of 2018 in
order to take into account the new operations BBI JU has dealt with (e.g. intervention of
the Participants’ Guarantee Fund), the COMPASS transactions that were carried out for
the first time (payment of experts, recoveries) and some suggestions from the European
Court of Auditors about the business continuity of the Authorising Officer’s function.
At the beginning of 2018, the Programme Office implemented a fine-tuning of the internal
procedure for tendering and signing procurement contracts, aimed in particular at the
accountability of financial actors, the decrease in the administrative burden and the
efficiency of the payment process.
In 2019 further improvements and simplification have been implemented thanks to the
deployment of paperless workflows by using ARES, the European Commission document
management tool.
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4.2. EX-ANTE CONTROLS ON OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE
The Programme Office, through the close collaboration between the Administration and
Finance Unit and the Programme Unit, has been performing ex-ante controls in line with
the provision of Article 18 of the BBI JU Financial Rules, in order to provide assurance to
the Authorising Officer on the correctness of all payments.
Checklists further complement guidance on the ex-ante controls included in the Financial
Rules and in BBI’s Manual of Financial procedures. For the operational expenditure, the
processing and recording of transactions in the IT accounting system (ABAC) are mostly
performed via the corporate Horizon 2020 IT tools (SYGMA/COMPASS), which assures a
high degree of automation, and controls are embedded in each workflow. In addition to
this, the Programme Office has established additional internal step-by-step procedures
for financial and operational verification, in order to ensure coherence in controls and to
facilitate the learning curve of newly recruited staff, in particular for the payment of the
cost claims linked to the periodic reporting of ongoing BBI JU grants.
During 2019 the operational expenditure was implemented by means of pre-financing
payments as well as periodic and final payments of ongoing grants.
In 2019 the BBI JU Programme Office processed a large number of periodic reports (44)
and payments (43). Ex ante controls for all grant operations have been put in place in
accordance with the Horizon 2020 Vademecum and in line with the Horizon 2020 ex ante
control strategy.
In addition to this, operational and financial staff attended the dedicated corporate
trainings (grant preparation and signature, reporting and payments, project monitoring,
amendments, be aware – fraud in the research family, and others) and an internal
workshop on financial matters was organised to brief the project officers about the
possible financial issues related to the periodic reporting.
In order to reinforce the ex-ante controls, specific ad-hoc reviews performed by external
experts were put in place also for specific cases, for example requests for amendments
significantly modifying the description of the action.
Concerning the amendments to the ongoing Grant Agreements, in 2019 the BBI JU
Programme Office dealt with a much higher number of requests compared to prior years:
53 amendment requests were initiated by project coordinators in 2019, compared to 42
requests processed in 2018. This increase is due to the growth in the project portfolio
but remains proportionally in line with the number of grants.
With respect to the controls related to fraud detection and prevention, BBI JU’s
Programme Office follows the common Horizon 2020 anti-fraud strategy. Corporate
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trainings on anti-fraud prevention and detection are mandatory for operational and
financial staff. In addition, a specific briefing on this matter was given to staff in view of
the grant preparation process, discussing examples provided by the European
Commission and by Executive Agencies as well as good practices defined by the European
Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Regarding the prevention of double funding, BBI JU’s
Programme Office consults the European Commission and the Executive Agencies in
order to ensure that there is no overlapping of ranked proposals arising from BBI JU calls
with other running grants managed by these entities. To better address the detection and
prevention of plagiarism, BBI JU is following the development by DG RTD of dedicated
corporate IT tools and is exploring the possibility of joining EC framework contracts to
use tailored IT applications.
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4.3. EX-POST CONTROLS OF OPERATIONAL EXPENDITURE AND ERROR RATES IDENTIFIED
Ex- post controls of operational expenditure are implemented in line with the Horizon
2020 Audit Strategy. The Horizon 2020 Common Implementation Centre (CIC) developed
this audit strategy in cooperation with all its clients: Services of the European
Commission, Executive Agencies and Joint Undertakings.
The main objective of the Audit Strategy is to provide the individual Authorising Officers
with the necessary elements of assurance in a timely manner, thus allowing them to
report on the budget expenditure for which they are responsible. Ex-post controls on
operational expenditure contribute in particular to:
assessing the legality and regularity of expenditure on a multi-annual basis;
providing an indication of the effectiveness of the related ex-ante controls;
providing the basis for corrective and recovery mechanisms, if necessary.
The Common Audit Service (CAS) is the department of the CIC serving all Horizon 2020
stakeholders in the implementation of the audit strategy. Its mission is to deliver a
corporate approach for the audit cycle: audit selection, planning, application of rules,
relations with beneficiaries and management information on the audit process.
BBI JU is effectively integrated in this control chain: it participates in the audit process
definition and in the monitoring of its implementation in continuous collaboration with
the CAS and its clients. The main objectives of the cooperation are to align operations and
exploit synergies on the common audit effort. The efficiency gains should reduce the
audit costs and the administrative burden on auditees, always in line with the specific
objectives for ex-post controls explained above.
In 2019, the main results were:
1. The selection and launch of the third wave of audits on beneficiaries of BBI
JU grants;
2. The completion of the first two waves of audits on beneficiaries of BBI JU
grants;
3. The progressive increase of audit results on the overall Horizon 2020
expenditure.
SAMPLING METHODOLOGY
The Audit Strategy provides audit coverage at two layers of sampling:
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1. The corporate layer that covers the entire Horizon 2020 expenditure;
2. The additional layers that cover the Horizon 2020 expenditure of entities
with specific Grant Agreements or a separate discharge procedure, the
latter being the case for BBI JU.
For the selection of the audits, representative samples are implemented at both layers
and these exercises are complemented by risk-based selections. In particular:
In the corporate layer, every two years a random Common Representative
Sample (CRS) is implemented. The objective of the exercise is to provide an
estimate of the overall level of error in the Horizon 2020 expenditure,
across all services involved in its management, via a representative sample
of cost claims across the Research and Innovation family.
In the additional layer102, every year a random JU Representative Sample
(JURS) is implemented. This was performed for the third time in 2019 for
BBI JU expenditure. The objective of the exercise is to obtain a certain level
of direct audit coverage of that part of the Horizon 2020 expenditure
managed by the JU, via a representative sample of its cost claims.
To complement this information, corporate and JU-specific 'risk-based'
audits are selected according to one or more risk criteria. These audits are
intended to detect and correct as many errors as possible by targeting, for
instance, the larger beneficiaries and possibly fraudulent operators. These
audits are also referred to as 'corrective' audits;
In order to ensure effective synchronisation of the two representative exercises, working
arrangements and sampling procedures implemented in 2019 dealt with possible clashes
between audits and optimised the audit effort wherever this was possible.
AUDIT COVERAGE IN 2019
The Horizon 2020 audit campaign started in 2016. As of end 2019, three Common
Representative Samples (CRS) (with a total of 467 expected results) have been selected.
By the end of 2019, cost claims amounting to EUR 16.2 billion were submitted by the
beneficiaries to the services.
By the end of 2019, in its own local layer, BBI JU validated and paid cost claims totalling
EUR 151 million. In total, 46 participations with 49 validated cost claims had been selected
for audit and directly covered EUR 38 million of BBI JU expenditure (24.6%).
102 Selections done in this layer by entities with specific Grant Agreements follow different procedures and are
reported in the AAR of the European Commission
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The detailed view of the audit coverage of BBI JU expenditure is presented in the following
table:
BBI JU expenditure Audit coverage
Values
(in EUR) Percentages
Number of
cost claims
selected for
audits
Validated and paid by BBI JU 150,914,010 100%
Covered by risk audits 1,104,819 0.73% 3
Covered by top ups on selected
audits 1,963,430 1.3% 5
Covered by representative audits 33,765,259 22.37% 41
Total direct audit coverage 37,833,507 24.41% 49
Table 28: Audit coverage as of 31/12/2019
INDICATORS ON THE RESULTS OF AUDITS AND ON CORRECTIVE MEASURES
Different indicators are calculated to provide a comprehensive view of legality and
regularity. They can provide estimations about error rates on operational expenditure for
the whole Research and Innovation family and for the part of the expenditure managed
by BBI JU. This approach is justified by the fact that the Horizon 2020 implementing rules
are common and all implementing entities are requested to operate within the same ex-
ante control system103.
Starting from the first audit results of 2017 on the overall Horizon 2020 expenditure, BBI
JU will be progressively reporting on the following cumulative indicators:
Representative Detected Error Rate for Horizon 2020: this is the error
rate derived solely from the results of the CRS, extrapolated to the overall
population and calculated for the Framework Programme as a whole. This
error rate provides an estimate of the level of error in the Framework
Programme at the time of the audits;
103 BBI JU reported on the implementation of ex-ante controls in section 4.2 above.
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Representative Detected Error Rate for BBI JU: this is the error rate
derived solely from the results of the JURS, extrapolated to the overall
population of cost claims paid by BBI JU. This error rate provides an
estimate of the level of error in that part of the Horizon 2020 expenditure
managed by BBI JU at the time of the closure of the audits selected under
the JURS.
Therefore, the two representative error rates do not factor in the follow-up and
corrections/recoveries undertaken by the services of the Research and Innovation family
after the audit, nor do they provide information on the net final financial impact of errors.
The following indicator provides this information:
Cumulative Residual Error Rate: the residual error rate, on a multi-
annual basis, is the extrapolated level of error remaining after
corrections/recoveries have been undertaken by the services of the
Research and Innovation family following the audits.
The calculation of the Residual Error Rate for Horizon 2020 is detailed in the AAR of the
European Commission and is based on the following assumptions:
all errors detected will be corrected;
all non-audited expenditure of audited beneficiaries is clear of systematic
material errors, so that the residual error rate in this expenditure can be
estimated to be equal to the non-systematic part of the representative
error rate (for expenditure subject to extension of audit findings this is only
assumed when the respective extension procedures have been closed).
BBI JU applies the same approach in calculating the residual error rate of its own part of
the Horizon 2020 expenditure (Cumulative Residual Error Rate for BBI JU) as shown in
annex 7.9.
The residual error rate develops over time and depends on the assumptions set out
above. This indicator is reliable and acceptable for the purposes for which it was intended,
i.e. as a legality and regularity indicator on the progress made, through its ex-post audit
strategy, in dealing with errors on a multi-annual basis. However, it remains an estimate
as long as not all cost claims have been received and not all cases of extension of audit
findings have yet been fully implemented.
RESULTS OF THE EX-POST AUDITS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR HORIZON 2020
The error rates reported by CAS for Horizon 2020 are:
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The Representative Detected Error Rate for Horizon 2020 is 2.78% and
is based on 298 representative results out of the 467 expected in the three
Common Representative Samples, expected to rise to 3.30% taking into
account the results of draft audit reports;
The Cumulative Residual Error Rate for Horizon 2020 is 2.15 %,
expected to rise to around 2.31% when taking into account the results of
the draft audit reports.
At the level of BBI JU, all 10 audits planned for 2018 and all 11 planned for 2019 were
finalised by the publication of the present report. The closed representative audits cover
EUR 26.16 million, which represents 17.33% of the project costs paid by BBI JU by the end
of 2019.
The error rates that can calculated on that basis for BBI JU are the following:
The Representative Detected Error Rate in the JURS is 0.6% and is
based on 24 out of 41 cost claims selected for representative audits;
The Cumulative Residual Error Rate for BBI JU is 0.47%.
As stated in the AAR 2018, the error rates set out above must still be treated with caution.
The three first waves of representative audits - both at corporate level and at BBI JU level
- are not yet fully implemented. Therefore, the error rate is not yet fully representative of
the expenditure under assessment.
As H2020 is a multi-annual programme, the error rates, and especially the Cumulative
Residual Error Rate, must be considered over time. In particular, the cleaning effect of
audits over a given period will tend to increase the difference between the representative
detected error rate and the cumulative residual error rate, with the latter finishing at a
lower value.
As was the case last year, there is evidence that the simplifications introduced in Horizon
2020, along with the progressively-increasing experience acquired by the major
beneficiaries, have positively affected the number and level of errors. However,
beneficiaries still make errors, usually because of a lack of understanding or non-respect
of the rules.
BBI JU has been actively participating in common actions taken in this context by the
Research Family (i.e. introduction of simplifications or clarifications on different aspects
of the Model Grant Agreement, and its accompanying annotations) and taken stock of
lessons learnt from the results of the first audit in order to improve ex ante controls.
The results of these actions shall contribute to achieving the multiannual objectives
relating to errors detected in the Horizon 2020 expenditure. The expectations provided
to the Legislator in the legislative proposal for the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
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are the same as those formulated in the legislative proposal for BBI JU. These
expectations define that, on an annual basis, error rates should range between 2% and
5%, with the ultimate aim of achieving a residual error level as close as possible to 2 % at
the closure of the multi-annual programme104.
In conclusion, BBI JU does not consider that a reserve is needed for Horizon 2020
expenditure this year.
104 Legislative Financial Statement as part of the 2011 Commission proposal for the Regulation on Horizon 2020
(COM/2011/809) of 30 November 2011, pages 98-102, as recalled in the Commission proposal for the Regulation on the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (COM/2013/496) of 10 July 2014, pages 34 -36
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4.4. AUDIT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS
On 14 November 2019 the European Court of Auditors (ECA) published its report on BBI
JU’s annual accounts for the financial year 2018105, in which the ECA issued an ‘unmodified
opinion’ (with no qualifications) on the reliability of the accounts and on the legality and
regularity of revenue and of payments underlying the accounts.
105 https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did={7DB1873E-552A-42A7-9746-1777B2D045E9}
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4.5. INTERNAL AUDIT
The Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the European Commission performs the internal audit
function for the BBI JU as specified in its Financial Rules.
In the course of 2019, the IAS audited the H2020 grant processes (from the
identification of the call topics to the signature of the grant agreement) that
are implemented in BBI JU. In the final audit report, the IAS observed a
number of good practices throughout the audited processes and
concluded that, in general, the BBI JU has set up an effective and efficient
internal control system for the audited processes. Additionally, the report
provided valuable recommendations in order to: improve the effectiveness
of existing controls, notably on the management of Conflict of Interests of
the members of the Governing Board; streamline efficiencies, notably in
the topic definition processes; and to address some bottlenecks, notably in
the submission and evaluation of proposals. BBI JU accepted all
recommendations and agreed on an adequate action plan with the IAS.
The IAS has an obligation to report to the Director and to the Governing Board if critical
risks and recommendations have not been addressed and if there are significant delays
in the implementation of recommendations made in previous years. By the end of 2019
none of this was reported by the IAS.
Finally, in November 2019 the IAS launched its second risk assessment of BBI JU in order
to identify and prioritize the audit topics that will constitute the Strategic Internal Audit
Plan (SIAP) 2021-2023 for BBI JU. The finalisation of the SIAP is expected by the beginning
of 2020.
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4.6. RISK MANAGEMENT AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Risk Management has been an integral part of the management processes in place at BBI
JU since its outset and adds value to the organisation by efficiently and effectively
supporting the achievement of objectives. The level of resources devoted to it as well as
the level of documentation produced are adequate and proportionate to the criticality of
the relevant activities. Across the Programme Office, the management is alerted about
emerging risks. In addition, the Governing Board is kept informed in a timely manner
about risks and responses that should be discussed and agreed at that level.
The management regularly performs risk reviews and assesses any emerging ones. In
each exercise the risk identification and assessment evaluate the root causes of each risk
and their potential consequences. The existing controls and the experience gained by the
Programme Office in the core activities are taken into due consideration. ‘Lost
opportunities’, convergences and inter-dependencies between risks are also considered
during the assessment. The risk management action plan is realistic and considers the
material significance of the risks in order to provide appropriate responses. The
management monitors and reports on possible threats as needed and ensures an
effective implementation of the agreed responses to risks.
ASSESSMENT STEPS FOR 2020 PRIORITIES
The annual risk assessment started in September 2019 with a risk collection exercise that
re-assessed the risks identified in the previous year and assessed any new or emerging
threats to the achievement of priorities and objectives formulated in the AWP 2020.
However, some initial assumptions needed to be verified and the assessment was
updated in January 2020 with the support of newly available information.
The Programme Office has planned actions in order to reduce the likelihood of
occurrence of identified risks and/or their impact should they materialise. Risk responses
are proportionate to the risk level and with due consideration of the priorities and
capacity of the Programme Office.
ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS
In line with the trend of previous years, the risk responses planned for 2019 were
adequately implemented in a timely manner and/or were updated according to the
relevant priorities of the organisation. These results further increased the control of the
Programme Office over the identified threats and the relevant information was used to
reassess the risk exposure of the organisation. The periodic review of well-established
and tested business policies, processes and procedures is ensuring an improved
reliability of existing internal controls. Standardised procedures are also dealing with
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exceptional events, and the timeliness of communications is ensured through well-
established reporting lines
The same threats identified for 2019 will continue to be addressed in 2020, but with
updated mitigating actions and, in one case, with a different degree of significance. The
only risk that continues to be assessed as significant challenges the management of
human resources and, in particular, the objective to ensure that the necessary and
competent resources are timely available at the right time to cope with an increasing
workload for the organisation, while keeping high-quality operational standards in its
operations. In previous years, the management team adopted preventive and mitigating
measures that proved to be effective in managing this critical issue. The progressive
growth of the workload has been well anticipated and accompanied by the adoption of
different management strategies (inter alia: prioritisation of activities; detailed planning
and allocation of resources; implementation of retention and motivation policies for staff;
consolidation and standardisation of core business activities around efficiency gains). In
2020, the Programme Office will reach the peak of its activities and the management of
human resources will likely be challenged by a growing turnover rate (already
experienced in 2019) and, notably in the second semester of the year, by new instances
associated with the implementation of Horizon Europe. Mitigating actions in the action
plan 2020 are conceived around these two elements.
Concerning the other four risks, they are all assessed with a lower significance, notably
because of mitigating actions planned in the past.
Two other sensitive topics have been assessed as being effectively and efficiently
addressed through the controls already implemented at BBI JU:
1. Management of potential conflicts of interest:
The Implementing Rules on Conflict of Interest for all the staff and bodies of BBI JU (GB,
SRG, SC and ED) were adopted by the Governing Board on 13 December 2017 following
the model agreed by the European Commission.
The Programme Office has developed a comprehensive set of rules and procedures that
are effectively implemented across its entire governance structure as follows:
When joining the Programme Office team, each staff member agrees on
the application of the Staff Regulation and signs a declaration of honour on
the management of conflicts of interest.
A copy of the code of good administrative behaviour is provided to staff
members. Furthermore, compulsory trainings on the management of
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conflicts of interest and whistleblowing are included in the Learning and
Development Framework of BBI JU.
Conflict of interest procedures for the members of both the Governing
Board and the advisory boards of BBI JU are in place.
Specific measures have been implemented for the prevention and
management of conflicts of interest of experts in charge of the evaluation
of grant applications, and of the review of projects and tenders.
In 2019, part of this framework was audited by the IAS as being reported in section 4.5.
2. Data protection
The Programme Office has continued to ensure that appropriate data protection
measures are in place and adequately communicated to all staff through training
sessions and through continuous support and monitoring by the Local Informatics
Security Officer (LISO) and by the Data Protection Officer (DPO).
BBI JU shares an ICT infrastructure with other Joint Undertakings located in the same
building. In 2016, BBI JU adopted the Common IT Security Policy, which sets out the
security and data protection requirements and principles to be applied by data
processors on outsourced activities.
Preservation of internal information security is covered under the Security Plan of
Managed Services. Preservation of data integrity, legibility and accessibility is assured in
the IT infrastructure of BBI JU and relevant elements of assurance are addressed in the
Business Continuity Plan and in the Disaster Recovery Plan.
In 2019, the Programme Office continued the implementation of Regulation (EC)
2018/1725 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal
data by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. The privacy statements were
updated and a Memorandum of Understanding over the joint controllership for the
H2020 IT tools was defined in collaboration with all EU implementing bodies. Additionally,
the working group of the Joint Undertakings consulted the European Data Protection
Supervisor (EDPS) on a model decision to adopt the internal rules regarding the access to
data protection.
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4.7. COMPLIANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL CONTROL
In line with the provisions of the BBI JU Financial Rules, on 16 September 2015 the
Governing Board adopted 16 Internal Control Standards (ICS) based on the equivalent
standards laid down by the European Commission for its own departments. On 30
November 2017 the Governing Board amended the ICS in order to ensure that they
adequately reflect the context of BBI JU.
As planned in the AWP 2019, between June and September 2019 the Programme Office
performed a self-assessment of the level of implementation of its ICS. The overall
objectives of the exercise were to provide the Programme Office with an updated picture
of the state of implementation of the ICS and to continue the analysis initiated in 2017 on
the degree of maturity of the current Internal Control Framework. Moreover, these
conclusions were taken into consideration by the Programme Office in order to prepare
the transition to a new principle-based internal control framework in line with the most
recent practice of the EU Institutions.
In order to achieve these objectives, the assessment considered the specific criteria of
compliance, effectiveness and efficiency of the ICS’ implementation. In coherence with
previous reporting and with the objectives of the year, the conclusions were then drawn
on the basis of the maturity model matrix as provided by the Global Institute of Internal
Auditors106.
ASSESSMENT CONCLUSIONS
The assessment process ran smoothly, confirming that the staff involved in the
implementation of ICS had acquired a good understanding of the assessment objectives,
methodology and criteria. As also mentioned by the IAS in a dedicated review of the ICS
implementation at BBI JU in 2017, striving for full implementation of the ICS is a
continuous process, which has been well embedded in the management routine of the
BBI JU.
BBI JU enjoys a very good maturity level for the implementation of the 16 ICS, as
demonstrated in the table below, which reports additional improvements as compared
to the 2018 conclusions. The scores in the maturity column clearly show the following
attributes of a maturity model grid as provided by the Global Institute of Internal
Auditors107 and assessed by the accountable functions for each ICS in a scale 0 to 5:
106 IPPF – Practice Guide: Selecting, Using, and Creating Maturity Models: A Tool for Assurance and Consulting
Engagements. Global Institute of Internal Auditors, July 2013
107 Ibi idem
210
3 ICS score 3 = Defined – Standardised: controls are in place and documented, and
employees have received formal communications about them. Undetected deviations
from controls may occur;
13 ICS score 4 = Managed – Monitored: standardised controls are in place and undergo
periodic testing to evaluate their design and operation; test results are communicated to
management. Limited use of automated tools may support controls.
For proper reference, level 0 is usually some variation of a non-existent or ad hoc
execution of controls, while level 5 is usually considered a high maturity, sustainable,
and/or optimised process. Achieving level 5 may not be an organisation’s goal, as the cost
to achieve that level may at times exceed the benefits. In other words, management’s risk
tolerance may be high enough to allow the process to be less exact or consistent, or it
may not be strategically important enough to invest in certain processes to consistently
achieve level 5.
Maturity
(0 to 5)
Internal Control Standards 2018 2019
ICS 1: Mission 4 4
ICS 2 Ethical and organisational values 3 3
ICS 3 Staff allocation and flexibility 4 4
ICS 4 Staff evaluation and development 4 4
ICS 5 Objective and performance indicators 4 4
ICS 6 Risk management process 4 4
ICS 7 Operational structure 3 4
ICS 8 Processes and procedures 4 4
ICS 9 Management supervision 4 4
ICS 10 Business continuity 4 4
ICS 11 Document management 4 4
ICS 12 Information and communication 3 4
ICS 13 Accounting and financial reporting 4 4
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ICS 14 Evaluation activities 4 4
ICS 15 Assessment of internal control systems 4 4
ICS 16 Internal audit function 4 4
Table 29: Degree of maturity of Internal Control Standards implemented at BBI JU as assessed in 2018 and in 2019.
The overall good implementation of actions planned for 2019 has either further improved
the level of maturity of all ICS or confirmed the positive results of previous assessments.
A few new instances have been identified and the most important ones relate to findings
of the IAS where corrective actions were duly prioritised. The action plan for the relevant
ICS has been updated accordingly and with due consideration to both the urgency and
importance to intervene as well as the capacity of BBI JU in terms of resources.
On this basis, it is also reasonable to conclude that no critical risks emerge in the context
of the compliance, effectiveness and efficiency of BBI JU ICF as a whole.
STEPS TAKEN TO PREPARE THE TRANSITION TO A NEW PRINCIPLE-BASED INTERNAL CONTROL FRAMEWORK
In the course of 2019, the Programme Office prepared the condition for an effective
transition to a new Internal Control Framework in line with the most recent practice of
the EU bodies. The text of the principles in use at the European Commission has been
adapted to the specific characteristics of BBI JU and taking as examples similar texts that
are already in force in some other JUs.
The new Framework shall enter into force as from 1st January 2020 in order to facilitate
consistent reporting in the Annual Activity Report of 2020.
5. MANAGEMENT ASSURANCE
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5.1. ASSESSMENT OF THE ANNUAL ACTIVITY REPORT BY THE GOVERNING BOARD
INTRODUCTION
The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) programme office submitted the 2019
Annual Activity Report (AAR) to its Governing Board on 28 February 2020.
On 26 March 2020, the Governing Board appointed a working group to carry out all the
preparatory work required for the assessment of the 2019 AAR. This working group
included representatives of the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC, the only member
other than the Union) and the Commission.
In accordance with Article 15(3) of the Governing Board’s rules of procedure, the working
group reported to the Governing Board on 18 June 2020 by providing a draft assessment
of the AAR. This forms the basis for the Governing Board’s current assessment.
ANALYSIS
The Governing Board adopted the 2019 Annual Work Plan (AWP) on 14 December 2018
and subsequently amended it on 28 March 2019. It recognises the progress made by the
BBI JU towards achieving the objectives set in this work plan. It notes the following points
in particular:
In 2019, the efficient performance of BBI JU in core operations was confirmed,
continuing the positive trends observed in previous years. More specifically, all
applicants of Call 2019 were informed about the evaluation results 102 days
after the closure of the call, well in advance of the TTI target set for Horizon
2020 (153 days).
With respect to TTG, all GAs from GAP 2018, except for one project, were
signed on time. One project was signed after 308 days, because of a change in
the consortium’s partners.
All Grant Agreements were signed within an average of 235 days after the
closure of the call, against a target of 245 days. The average time to pay (TTP)
for pre-financing to projects from GAP 2018 was 9.9 days, compared to the
target of 30 days. All payments were executed on time.
In 2019, BBI JU assessed the periodic reports (technical and financial)
submitted by the projects funded under Calls 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The
average time to pay of the cost claims derived from the periodic reporting was
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73.8 days, compared to the target of 90 days. 98% of these payments were
performed on time, only one of them was late.
In terms of types of action, at the beginning of 2019 the BBI JU project portfolio
was composed of: 9 Flagships, 28 DEMOs, 52 RIAs and 11 CSAs. The Governing
Board appreciates that the different types of feedstock are now even better
covered than in the year before.
Call 2019 was published in the Funding and Tenders Portal and in the Official
Journal on 4 April 2019 with an indicative budget of 135 million and with a
submission deadline of 4 September 2019. 184 proposals were submitted
under this call: during the admissibility and eligibility checks, two proposals
were declared inadmissible, and three were declared ineligible; additionally,
one duplicate proposal was withdrawn by the respective applicant. 52% of the
proposals were evaluated above threshold, and 23 proposals out of 178
eligible proposals were retained for funding, corresponding to a 13% success
rate. The evaluation was carried out in the period provided for, with an
excellent time-to-inform.
In line with Article 60(2) of the MFR 2019, BBI JU revised its financial rules to
ensure compliance with this Regulation and requested derogations and
clarifications when pertinent. The derogations were not granted by DG BUDG
and the new financial rules were adopted at the Governing Board meeting of
12 December 2019. They entered into force on 1 January 2020, applying to the
calls for proposals published in 2020 onwards.
BIC’s and the Union's contribution to the BBI Initiative is shown in the amounts
of funding provided in the first 6 years108 to fulfil the commitments set out in
the Council Regulation:
o The members paid around EUR 10 369 792 each in administration
costs to the BBI JU programme office up to 2019, and an additional EUR
1 320 658 as the first instalment from BIC in February 2020. This
accounts for only around 38 % of the 10-year administrative budget
envisaged under Article 12(2) of the Statutes of the BBI JU, which shows
that the BBI JU programme office has budgeted carefully when it comes
to administration.
o Up until now, BIC has paid EUR 3 250 000 in programme-level
operational financial contributions. This is less than 2 % of the
minimum target of EUR 182 500 000 provided for under Article 4(2)(a),
108 Out of 7 years for operational budget commitments for calls (2014-2020), and 10 years for the administrative
budget (2015-2024).
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Article 12(3)(b) and Article 12(4) of the Statutes. In response to this, and
in accordance with Article 4(5) of the Council Regulation, in 2018 the
Commission decided to reduce the planned Union contribution of
EUR 205 million to BBI JU’s 2020 operational costs by EUR 140 million.
This means that the Union’s 2020 contribution amounts to EUR 65
million.
o The committed total in kind contributions made by BIC’s constituent
entities towards operational activities amounted to EUR 216,185,000.
BIC has reported that the estimated total in-kind contributions made by
its constituent entities towards operational activities (estimated total
IKOP) is EUR 55 140 159 (estimated and reported by BIC for 2015, 2016,
2017, 2018 and 2019)109,110. BIC reported that certified in-kind
contributions made by its constituent entities towards operational
activities (certified IKOP) amounted to EUR 16 776 318111.
o In 2019, BIC’s constituent entities contributed EUR 216,185,000112 in
kind to additional activities, leading to an amount of EUR 916,064,000
certified for the years 2014 to 2019 in total. This is nearly 75 % of the
amount expected over 11 years under Article 4(2)(b) of the Council
Regulation and is therefore slightly below expectations.
o BIC and its constituent entities have therefore delivered a reported
EUR 730 275 110 in total113. After 5 out of 11 years, this is only 27 % of
the total expected amount of at least EUR 2 730 million (Article 4(1) of
the Council Regulation). This is below expectations, but many additional
activities are planned for the later phases and will be certified several
years after the grant is considered as additional investments spread
over a period of years.
109 Beneficiaries that receive 100 % funding are usually excluded from this calculation and from reporting,
except in cases of ineligible costs incurred within a project, which could also be reported and certified as IKOP.
110 Sum of the figures for 2015/2016 (EUR 5 551 302), 2017 (EUR 12 127 016), 2018 (EUR 20 685 523) and 2019 (16 776 318).
111 Only this amount can be considered towards the contributory target of EUR 2 730 million provided for in Article 4(1) of the Council Regulation. The remainder of the committed resp. reported total IKOP will be certified when the projects have ended, according to the methodology approved by the Governing Board.
112 This amount only comprises those parts of the 2018 IKAA that were certified by 27 May 2019, and NOT the certified IKAA of 2019. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, these certificates were not available in May as usually, but will only be available during the second semester of 2020.
113 EUR 8 857 020 (administrative) + EUR 3 250 000 (financial contribution at programme level) + EUR 12 102 972 (IKOP certified) + EUR 699 879 000 (certified IKAA).
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o Taken together, the efforts described in the above points are less than
positive steps towards fulfilling the commitments, and more work is
needed.
o The methodology for calculating the initiative’s leverage is consistent
with the methodology used by the Commission for the interim
evaluation of the joint technology initiatives in 2017114. Only the signed
grant agreements up to Call 2018 can be considered, as the Call 2019
grant agreements had not yet been signed by 31 December 2019.
o Although this leverage factor comprises both committed (difference
between the total costs and the JU contribution of the grant agreements
signed, the Union contribution, BIC’s financial contribution at
programme and project level) and certified (IKAA) amounts, it is a
positive step towards the initiative achieving significant leverage by
2024.
o The Governing Board appreciates that the 2019 AAR shows the value of
the initiative’s overall operational leverage together with the underlying
figures.
The BBI JU’s efficiency is monitored by key performance indicators (KPIs) that
are applied by all joint undertakings under Horizon 2020. The Governing Board
notes that the KPIs related to programme monitoring show that the BBI JU is
operating efficiently.
The KPIs related to crosscutting issues, gender equality, private sector
participation and the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) are positive. The analysis of SME participation carried out by the
Programme Office shows that they enable the generation of new products and
processes by providing new knowledge, supplying customised technologies
and services for testing, data analysis and validation. With a relatively high
participation rate in BBI JU projects (39%) compared to other initiatives under
Horizon 2020, this picture confirms that they play a dynamic role in the bio-
based economy and that the BBI JU initiative represents a valuable instrument
for SME-driven innovation.
The KPI related to the geographical distribution of participants shows that the
beneficiaries in BBI JU calls remains well balanced with a good spread between
EU15, EU13 and associated countries. For example, mirroring the geographical
114 Although the Council Regulation itself does not mention a calculated leverage objective for measuring
BIC’s and the Union's contribution to the BBI Initiative, a summary figure may be well suited to showing how the initiative has developed in general.
217
variety of the feedstock used, five Flagship projects are located in EU 15
(Ireland, Belgium, France and Italy), three in EU13 (Estonia, Slovakia and
Romania) and one in Norway, an associated country. Similarly, 28 DEMO
projects are evenly located across Europe, with a strong involvement of
Eastern and Southern European countries and associated countries. The six
new demonstration projects are expected to consolidate this positive trend.
The finalised projects - numbering 12 by the end of 2019 – are reporting actual
results for the first time and they confirm the trend detected so far: that the
project outcomes are actually outperforming all the KPIs, interactions within
the sector are revealing better than expected dynamics and for the end of the
programme expectations are even higher. The Governing Board appreciates
that the finalised projects show a trend of outperforming the set out KPIs.
The Governing Board takes note of BBI JU’s efforts to increase its available
payment appropriations in time to provide pre-financing for the newly signed
grants.
The Governing Board appreciates the BBI JU’s work on communication and
outreach, which helped it gain recognition. The BBI JU programme office
organised a very successful info day and participated in 14 national info days,
BBI JU organised and participated in 63 meetings, events and conferences. It
published several brochures describing the results and impact of BBI projects.
The BBI JU also organised a very successful stakeholder forum that welcomed
a great number of participants and facilitated insightful discussions.
The Governing Board acknowledges that the programme office management
processes and functions meet the four objectives of its internal control
framework. It also appreciates the revision of the decision laying down internal
rules concerning restrictions of certain rights of data subjects in relation to
processing of personal data in the framework of the functioning of the BBI JU.
The Governing Board considers that some aspects described in the report merit
improvement, and:
asks the BBI JU to gradually change from expected to validated KPI figures once
projects have ended, as planned.
CONCLUSION
The Governing Board believes that the technical and operational information provided in
the 2019 AAR reflects the situation at the end of 2019. It believes that the 2019 AAR
provides a complete and accurate report of the progress made by the BBI JU in 2019, in
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particular on the objectives set in the 2019 AWP as amended on 26 March 2019. The
report clearly identifies the risks associated with the BBI JU’s operations, duly reports on
how the resources were used, and indicates the efficiency and effectiveness of the BBI
JU’s internal control system.
The Governing Board draws the BBI JU’s attention to a number of issues that require
improvement, as listed above.
Based on the working group’s report, the declaration of the authorising officer, and the
information provided in this report, the Governing Board concludes that the 2019 key
objectives have been achieved in compliance with the principles of legality and sound
financial management.
Taking note of the declaration of assurance provided by the Executive Director of the BBI
JU, the Governing Board confirms that, in general, suitable internal control standards
either have been put in place and largely been implemented and require supplementary
action, and that the BBI JU is properly monitoring and mitigating any risks.
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5.2. ELEMENTS SUPPORTING ASSURANCE
This section reviews the assessment of the elements reported in chapters 2 and 4 and
draws conclusions that enable the Executive Director to obtain a full picture of the state
of play of the BBI JU, underpinning the reasonable assurance given by the Authorising
Officer in his declaration of assurance on the Annual Activity Report.
The main elements supporting this assurance are based on the management assessment
off the results of key indicators related to the budget execution, the internal control self-
assessment, the results of audits from the ECA and of the work performed by the IAS in
the course of the reporting year, the first audit results on the overall Horizon 2020
expenditure, as well as the reporting from the Head of Administration and Finance, the
Head of Programme, the Internal Control and Audit Manager and the Accounting Officer
of BBI JU.
All this information positively supports the statements of the declaration of assurance
and no significant weaknesses were identified that call into question the reasonable
assurance as to the use of resources for their intended purpose, in accordance with the
principles of sound financial management and the fact that the implemented control
procedures give the necessary guarantees on the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions.
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5.3. RESERVATIONS
No reservation is made for 2019.
221
5.4. OVERALL CONCLUSION
In conclusion, management has reasonable assurance that, overall, suitable controls are
in place and working as intended, risks are being appropriately monitored and mitigated,
and necessary improvements and reinforcements are being implemented. Therefore, the
Executive Director, in his capacity as Authorising Officer, has signed the declaration of
assurance presented below.
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6. DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE
223
6.1 DECLARATION OF ASSURANCE
I, the undersigned, Philippe Mengal, Executive Director of the Bio-Based Industries Joint
Undertaking,
In my capacity as authorising officer
Declare that the information contained in this report gives a true and fair view115.
State that I have reasonable assurance that the resources assigned to the activities described
in this report have been used for their intended purpose and in accordance with the principles
of sound financial management, and that the control procedures put in place give the
necessary guarantees concerning the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.
This reasonable assurance is based on my own judgement and on the information at my
disposal, such as the results of the self-assessment, ex-post controls, the work of the Internal
Audit Service and the lessons learnt from the reports of the Court of Auditors for years prior to
the year of this declaration.
Confirm that I am not aware of anything not reported here which could harm the interests of
the Joint Undertaking.
Place: Brussels
Date: 28/02/2020
Philippe MENGAL
Executive Director
115 True and fair in this context means a reliable, complete and correct view on the state of affairs in the Joint
Undertaking.
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7. ANNEXES
225
7.1. ORGANISATIONAL CHART
Exe
cuti
ve D
irec
tor
Fin
anci
al a
nd
Acc
ou
nti
ng
Co
rres
po
nd
ent
Fi
nan
cial
Ass
ista
nts
HR
Man
ager
IT A
ssis
tan
t
Exe
cuti
ve &
C
om
mu
nic
atio
n
Ass
ista
nt
Pro
ject
Off
icer
s
Ass
ista
nt
Cal
l C
oo
rdin
ato
r
Ad
min
istr
ativ
e A
ssis
tan
t
Co
mm
un
icat
ion
Off
icer
H
ead
of
Fin
ance
an
d
Ad
min
istr
atio
n
Hea
d o
f P
rogr
amm
e Le
gal a
nd
Co
ntr
acti
ng
Man
ager
Inte
rnal
Co
ntr
ol a
nd
A
ud
it M
anag
er
Co
mm
un
icat
ion
A
ssis
tan
t
226
7.2. STAFF ESTABLISHMENT PLAN
Function
group and
grade
2018 2019
Authorised budget Filled in position as
of 31/12/2018 Authorised budget
Filled in position as
of 31/12/2019
Permane
nt Posts
Tempora
ry Posts
Permane
nt Posts
Tempora
ry Posts
Permanen
t Posts
Temporar
y Posts
Permanen
t Posts
Temporar
y Posts
AD 16
AD 15
AD 14 1 1 1 1
AD 13
AD 12 1 1
AD 11 2 2 1 1
AD 10
AD 9
AD 8 2 2 3 3
AD 7 5 5 4 4
AD 6
AD 5
AD total 10 10 10 10
AST 11
AST 10
AST 9
AST 8
AST 7
AST 6
AST 5 1 1
AST 4 1 2 1 1
AST 3
AST 2 1 1 1 1
AST 1
227
Function
group and
grade
2018 2019
Authorised budget Filled in position as
of 31/12/2018 Authorised budget
Filled in position as
of 31/12/2019
Permane
nt Posts
Tempora
ry Posts
Permane
nt Posts
Tempora
ry Posts
Permanen
t Posts
Temporar
y Posts
Permanen
t Posts
Temporar
y Posts
AST total 3 3 3 2
AST/SC 6
AST/SC 5
AST/SC 4
AST/SC 3
AST/SC 2
AST/SC 1
AST/SC total
TOTAL 13 13 13 12
GRAND
TOTAL
13 13 13 12
Staff resources also include five GF IV and five GF III contract agents according to the table
below.
Contract agents Authorised 2018 Recruited as of
31/12/2018 Authorised 2019
Recruited as of
31/12/2019
Function group IV 5 5 5 5
Function group III 5 5 5 5
Function group II
Function group I
TOTAL 10 10 10 10
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7.3. PUBLICATIONS FROM PROJECTS
The tables for the publications below were generated based on data provided by BBI JU
funded projects via the ‘continuous reporting’ module116 of the Funding and Tenders
Portal. The category “other” includes mainly congress presentations and public reports
that do not strictly fit into any of the other categories. In the AAR 2018 the table below
was included, and 75 publications from 2018 were reported by BBI JU projects.
Project 2015 2016 2017 2018
Article - - 2 -
Book chapter - - 1 4
Conference
proceedings - 4 18 12
Monographic
book - - 1 1
Other - 1 21 2
Peer reviewed
article 1 5 26 47
Thesis
dissertation 1 2 2 9
Total 2 12 71 75
In the AAR 2018 it was stated that this 2018 amount was most likely an underestimation,
since some 2018 publications were not yet added in the Funding and Tenders Portal by
the end of 2018. In the table below, an update of this table is provided based on the data
encoded in the Funding and Tenders Portal by 31/12/2019. Whereas the results for 2015-
2017 only included minor modifications, the 2018 data increased from 75 to 120
publications. Therefore, it is to be expected that the amounts reported for 2019 are also
underestimations. In total, BBI JU projects have produced 341 publications between the
years 2015-2019.
Project 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Article 2 5 2
Book chapter 1 5 2
116 https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/grants/grant-
management/reports/continuous-report_en.htm
229
Conference
proceedings 1 7 19 18 23
Monographic
book 1 0
Other 1 1 21 16 20
Peer reviewed
article 5 26 59 73
Thesis
dissertation 1 2 4 17 9
Total 3 15 74 120 129
The publications produced by BBI JU projects in 2019 are listed in the table below, being
grouped per project. It is important to mention that the BBI JU projects followed the
Horizon 2020 guidelines117 for Open Access (OA) publications: 26 40 are in Green OA and
28 64 are in Gold OA. Out of the 2125 remaining publications that are not in OA, only four
two of them are peer-reviewed Journal articles, which in practice means that 71 of 73
(more than 970%) of the peer-reviewed journal publications from BBI JU followed the
Horizon 2020 guidelines for Open Access to scientific publications, which is considered a
very good outcome.
117 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/hi/oa_pilot/h2020-hi-oa-pilot-
guide_en.pdf
230
Project
Acronym Publication Title Authors Journal Title Publisher
ABACUS
Development of a Green
Downstream Process for the
Valorization of Porphyridium
cruentum Biomass
Rocío Gallego, Marina
Martínez, Alejandro Cifuentes,
Elena Ibáñez, Miguel Herrero
Molecules
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
ABACUS
Microalgal Carotenoids: A Review of
Production, Current Markets,
Regulations, and Future Direction
Lucie Novoveská, Michael E.
Ross, Michele S. Stanley, Rémi
Pradelles, Virginie Wasiolek,
Jean-François Sassi
Marine Drugs
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
ABACUS
Sub- and supercritical fluid
extraction of bioactive compounds
from plants, food-by-products,
seaweeds and microalgae – An
update
Rocío Gallego, Mónica Bueno,
Miguel Herrero
TrAC Trends in
Analytical
Chemistry
Elsevier BV
AgriChemWhey
Advanced Separation Processes for
Recovery of Critical Raw Materials
From Renewable and Waste
Resources
Saranya Rameshkumar,
Mukesh Pednekar, Sarat
Chandra T, James J. Doyle,
Ramesh Babu P
Reference Module
in Materials Science
and Materials
Engineering
Elsevier
AgriMax
Evaluation of Mechanical and
Interfacial Properties of Bio-
Composites Based on Poly(Lactic
Acid) with Natural Cellulose Fibers
Laura Aliotta, Vito Gigante,
Maria Coltelli, Patrizia Cinelli,
Andrea Lazzeri
International
Journal of
Molecular Sciences
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
AQUABIOPROFI
T
Innovative Green Technologies of
Intensification for Valorization of
Seafood and Their By-Products
Fadila Al Khawli, Mirian
Pateiro, Rubén Domínguez,
José M. Lorenzo, Patricia
Gullón, Katerina Kousoulaki,
Emilia Ferrer, Houda Berrada,
Francisco J. Barba
Marine Drugs
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
231
BIOFOREVER
Fast screening of optimal acid-
pretreatment conditions in the
conversion of wood to
lignocellulosic sugars
Jan Smits, Loes Bevers, Marco
van Haastert, Roel Wiertz,
Hans Kroon
Bioresource
Technology Reports Elsevier
BIOMOTIVE
Biomotive anunta o revolutie in
productia de materiale plastice
pentru industria auto
Gabriel Kolbay Ziare Ziare
BIOMOTIVE BIOMOTIVE: project taking a
different approach to sustainability
Umberto Guida, Senior
Director Knowledge and
Innovation Department, UITP
Intelligent
Transport Magazine
(web magazine)
Intelligent
Transport Magazine
(web magazine)
BIOMOTIVE Car parts from weeds: The future of
green motoring?
Chris Baraniuk (Technology of
Business reporter) BBC News Services BBC
BIOrescue
From Compost to Colloids—
Valorisation of Spent Mushroom
Substrate
Sebastian J. Beckers, Irantzu
Alegria Dallo, Inés del Campo,
Christine Rosenauer, Katja
Klein, Frederik R. Wurm
ACS Sustainable
Chemistry &
Engineering
American Chemical
Society
BIOrescue
Targeted Drug Delivery in Plants:
Enzyme‐Responsive Lignin
Nanocarriers for the Curative
Treatment of the Worldwide
Grapevine Trunk Disease Esca
Jochen Fischer, Sebastian J.
Beckers, Doungporn
Yiamsawas, Eckhard Thines,
Katharina Landfester, Frederik
R. Wurm
Advanced Science Wiley; Advanced
Science
Dendromass4Eu
rope
Identification of fungicidal
components in poplar bark from
short rotation plantations.
Daniela Einer, Martina,
Bremer, Javane Oktaee,
Steffen Fischer, André
Wagenführ
holztechnologie Inst. für
Holztechnologie
Dendromass4Eu
rope
Efficiency of Different Machine
Layouts for Chain Flail Delimbing,
Debarking and Chipping
Andrew McEwan, Michal Brink,
Raffaele Spinelli Forests
MDPI Open Access
Publishing
232
EFFORTE
Improved forest regeneration
operations in Latvia – transfer and
adaption of Nordic technologies ‐
mechanised planting
Lazdina, D.*, Dumins, K.,
Arturs Stals, T., Makovskis, K.
& Saksa, T.
Proceedings of the
Nordic-Baltic
Conference on
Operational
Research (NB-
NORD), Forest
Operations in
Response to
Environmental
Challenges, June 3-
5 2019, Honne,
Norway
Nibio
EFFORTE Simulating concepts for fully
mechanised stand regeneration
Manner, J., Bergkvist, I.,
Andersson, G.*, Jönsson, P.,
Sundblad, L-G, & Ersson, B T.
regeneration
Proceedings of the
Nordic-Baltic
Conference on
Operational
Research (NB-
NORD), Forest
Operations in
Response to
Environmental
Challenges, June 3-
5 2019, Honne,
Norway
Nibio
EFFORTE
Decision support for proposing
main extraction routes in final
felling
Willén, E., Davidsson, A. Skogforsk
233
EFFORTE Regeneration planning using
harvester information and geodata
Friberg, G., Möller, JJ., Willén,
E., Jacobsson, S., Bhuiyan, N. Skogforsk
EFFORTE Scheduling of harvesters Willén E., Frisk, M. Flisberg, P. Skogforsk
EFFORTE
Site index predictions for precision
forest planting combining harvester
data and auxiliaries derived from
airborne laser scanning
Rasmus Sörensen, Liviu
Theodor Ene, Jon Söderberg,
Lars Wilhelmsson
Abstracts for the
NoRSC’19
Conference at AIAS
Aarhus University
EFFORTE Täsmätietoa taimikonhoitoon Saksa, T Metsälehden
tiedeliite 15.8.2019 Metsälehti
EFFORTE
Brève approvisionnement n°15
(2019-06)
Ateliers de dialogue sur la
praticabilité
https://www.fcba.fr/sites/default/fil
es/files/Approvisionnement15.pdf
Morgan VUILLERMOZ, Philippe
RUCH FCBA
EFFORTE
Journée mécanisation forestière et
protection des sols (2019-07-09)
www.fcba.fr/actualite/journee-
mecanisation-forestiere-et-
protection-des-sols
Philippe RUCH FCBA
EFFORTE
Cost Analysis of Innovative Biomass
Harvesting Systems for Young
Dense Thinnings
Dan Bergström Croatian journal of
forest engineering
Faculty of Forestry,
University of
Zagreb
EFFORTE
Modelling soil moisture – soil
strength relationship of fine-
grained upland forest soils
Jori Uusitalo, Jari Ala-Ilomäki,
Harri Lindeman, Jenny Toivio,
Matti Siren
Silva Fennica Finnish Society of
Forest Sciences
234
EFFORTE Soil disturbance by cut-to-length
machinery on mid-grained soils
Matti Sirén, Jari Ala-Ilomäki,
Harri Lindeman, Jori Uusitalo,
Kalle Kiilo, Aura Salmivaara, Ari
Ryynänen
Silva Fennica Finnish Society of
Forest Sciences
EFFORTE
The efficacy of Chondrostereum
purpureum in sprout control of
birch during mechanised pre-
commercial thinning
Tiina Laine, Leena Hamberg,
Veli-Matti Saarinen, Timo
Saksa
BioControl Kluwer Academic
Publishers
EFFORTE
The efficacy of <i>Chondrostereum
purpureum</i> against sprouting
of deciduous species after
mechanised pre-commercial
thinning
Tiina Laine, Leena Hamberg,
Veli-Matti Saarinen, Timo
Saksa
Silva Fennica Finnish Society of
Forest Science
EFFORTE
Variable corridor thinning – a cost-
effective key to provision of
multiple ecosystem services from
young boreal conifer forests?
Johanna Witzell, Dan
Bergström, Urban Bergsten
Scandinavian
Journal of Forest
Research
Taylor & Francis
EnzOx2
Binding and Catalytic Mechanisms
of Veratryl Alcohol Oxidation by
Lignin Peroxidase: A Theoretical
and Experimental Study
Jefferson O. Romero, Elena
Fernández-Fueyo, Fabián Avila-
Salas, Rodrigo Recabarren,
Jans Alzate-Morales, Angel T.
Martínez
Computational and
Structural
Biotechnology
Journal
Elsevier
EnzOx2
Complete oxidation of
hydroxymethylfurfural to
furandicarboxylic acid by aryl-
alcohol oxidase
Ana Serrano, Eva Calviño, Juan
Carro, María I. Sánchez-Ruiz, F.
Javier Cañada, Angel T.
Martínez
Biotechnology for
Biofuels BioMed Central
235
EnzOx2 Energising the E-factor: The E+-
factor
Florian Tieves, Fabio Tonin,
Elena Fernández-Fueyo, John
M. Robbins, Bettina
Bommarius, Andreas S.
Bommarius, Miguel Alcalde,
Frank Hollmann
Tetrahedron Pergamon Press
Ltd.
EnzOx2
Formate Oxidase (FOx) from
Aspergillus oryzae: One Catalyst
Enables Diverse H2O2 - Dependent
Biocatalytic Oxidation Reactions
Florian Tieves, Sébastien Jean-
Paul Willot, Morten Martinus
Cornelis Harald van Schie,
Marine Charlène Renée Rauch,
Sabry Hamdy Hamed Younes,
Wuyuan Zhang, JiaJia Dong,
Patricia Gomez de Santos, John
Mick Robbins, Bettina
Bommarius, Miguel Alcalde,
Andreas Sebastian
Bommarius, Frank Hollmann
Angewandte
Chemie
International
Edition
John Wiley & Sons
Ltd.
EnzOx2
Increase of Redox Potential during
the Evolution of Enzymes
Degrading Recalcitrant Lignin
Iván Ayuso-Fernández, Antonio
L. De Lacey, Francisco J.
Cañada, Francisco J. Ruiz-
Dueñas, Angel T. Martínez
Chemistry - A
European Journal
John Wiley & Sons
Ltd.
EnzOx2
Peroxidase evolution in white-rot
fungi follows wood lignin evolution
in plants
Iván Ayuso-Fernández, Jorge
Rencoret, Ana Gutiérrez,
Francisco Javier Ruiz-Dueñas,
Angel T. Martínez
Proceedings of the
National Academy
of Sciences
National Academy
of Sciences
236
EnzOx2
Selective synthesis of 4-
hydroxyisophorone and 4-
ketoisophorone by fungal
peroxygenases
Carmen Aranda, Martí
Municoy, Víctor Guallar, Jan
Kiebist, Katrin Scheibner, René
Ullrich, José C. del Río, Martin
Hofrichter, Angel T. Martínez,
Ana Gutiérrez
Catalysis Science &
Technology
Royal Society of
Chemistry
EnzOx2
Structure-Guided Immobilization of
an Evolved Unspecific
Peroxygenase
Patricia Molina-Espeja, Paloma
Santos-Moriano, Eva García-
Ruiz, Antonio Ballesteros,
Francisco Plou, Miguel Alcalde
International
Journal of
Molecular Sciences
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
EnzOx2
Biotechnology platforms for aryl-
alcohol oxidases by directed
evolution
Javier Viña
ICP-
CSIC/Universidad
Autónoma de
Madrid
EnzOx2
Biotransformations of industrial
interest catalysed by fungal
peroxygenases
Carmen Aranda
IRNAS-
CSIC/Universidad
de Sevilla
EnzOx2
Evolución dirigida de la
peroxigenasa inespecífica de
agrocybe aegerita: tolerancia a
disolventes orgánicos mediante
deriva genética neutral y evolución
adaptativa
Javier Martin
ICP-
CSIC/Universidad
Autónoma de
Madrid
EnzOx2
Resurrection of ancestral
ligninolytic peroxidases
Resurrección de peroxidasas
ligninolíticas ancestrales
Ivan Ayuso
CIB-
CSIC/Universidad
Complutense de
Madrid
237
EXILVA
Towards optimised size distribution
in commercial microfibrillated
cellulose: a fractionation approach
Per A. Larsson, Anastasia V.
Riazanova, Goksu Cinar Ciftci,
Ramiro Rojas, Hans Henrik
Øvrebø, Lars Wågberg, Lars A.
Berglund
Cellulose Blackie Academic &
Professional
FUNGUSCHAIN
Agaricus bisporus and its by-
products as a source of valuable
extracts and bioactive compounds
Marina Ramos, Nuria Burgos,
Almero Barnard, Gareth Evans,
James Preece, Michael Graz,
Andrea Caroline Ruthes,
Amparo Jiménez-Quero,
Antonio Martínez-Abad,
Francisco Vilaplana, Long
Pham Ngoc, Abraham
Brouwer, Bart van der Burg,
María del Carmen Garrigós,
Alfonso Jiménez
Food Chemistry Elsevier BV
FUNGUSCHAIN
Identification of PPAR-activating
compounds in herbal and edible
plants and fungi from Vietnam
Long Pham Ngoc, Hai-yen
Man, Harry Besselink, Ha Dang
Thi Cam, Abraham Brouwer,
Bart van der Burg
Industrial Crops
and Products Elsevier BV
GreenLight Life Cycle Assessment of lignin-
based carbon fibres
Matty Janssen*,†, Eva
Gustafsson‡, Linda Echardt‡,
Johan Wallinder§ and Jens
Wolf§
---
238
GreenLight
Lignin-based Carbon fiber: effect of
softwood kraft lignin separation
method on multifilament melt-
spinning performance and
conversion
Overview of GL project and main
achievements at ISWFPC 2019
conference
Omid Hosseinaei, Darren
Baker, , Ewellyn Capanema,
Maria Sedin. RISE Bioeconomy
(Innventia), Box 5604, SE-114
86 Stockholm, Sweden
Linda Echardt. Södra
Skogsägarna ekonomisk
förening, Södra Innovation &
Nya Affärär, 43286 Väröbacka,
Sweden
Proceedings of the
20th International
Symposium on
Wood Fiber and
Pulping Chemistry
---
GreenLight Lignin-based carbon fibre for
lighter cars – GreenLight Project Birgit Backlund BE sustainable Samuele Nannoni
GreenLight The continuous precursor spinning
of lignin carbon fibre Lars Bostan, Omid Hosseinaei Carbon - Journal ---
GreenSolRes Hydrogenation of Polyesters to
Polyether Polyols
Bernhard M. Stadler, Sandra
Hinze, Sergey Tin, Johannes G.
Vries
ChemSusChem Wiley - V C H Verlag
GmbbH & Co.
GreenSolRes
Properties of Novel Polyesters
Made from Renewable 1,4‐
Pentanediol
Bernhard M. Stadler, Adrian
Brandt, Alexander Kux, Horst
Beck, Johannes G. Vries
ChemSusChem Wiley - V C H Verlag
GmbbH & Co.
iFermenter
EXTENDED KALMAN FILTER FOR
SUGAR ESTIMATION USING
COMBINED FREQUENT AND
INFREQUENT MEASUREMENTS
Andrea Tuveri, Pedro LIra,
Fernando Perez-Garcia, Nadav
Bar
IFAC FOSBE 19 Elsevier
239
iFermenter
Model-based Analysis and
Optimisation of a Continuous
Corynebacterium glutamicum
Bioprocess Utilizing Lignocellulosic
Waste
Peter Sinner, Julian Kager, Sven
Daume, Christoph Herwig IFAC-PapersOnLine Elsevier
iFermenter
The Increasing Issue of
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci
and the Bacteriocin Solution
Probiotics and
Antimicrobial
Proteins
Springer Pub. Co.,
InDIRECT
Allergenicity assessment of edible
insects and their protein
hydrolysates.
Giulia Leni, Tullia Tedeschi,
Claudia Folli, Augusta Caligiani,
Martina Cirlini, Natasja
Gianotten, Stefaan
Depraetere, Stefano Sforza.
Insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT
Biorefinery approach for
conversion of organic side-streams
into multiple marketable products
using insects – InDIRECT project
L. Bastiaens & InDIRECT
consortium Insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institute für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT
Comparing different defatting
methods to extract protein and fat
from the lesser mealworm
Lise Soetemans, Stefano
Sforza, Leen Bastiaens Insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT
Evaluation of insect derived
functional feed ingredients in
poultry diets
Stefanie Verstringe, Geert
Bruggeman & Leen Bastiaens. Insecta 2019
Publisher
proceedings:
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
240
InDIRECT Fractionation of insect biomass –
BBI-InDIRECT project
Leen Bastiaens, Lise
Soetemans, Giulia Cantero,
Queenie Simons, Van Roy
Sandra, Augusta Caligiani,
Stefano Sforza
Insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT
IDENTIFICATION OF TROPOMYOSIN
AS THE MOST RELEVANT ALLERGEN
IN EDIBLE INSECTS
Giulia Leni, Federico Pratesi,
Tullia Tedeschi, Claudia Folli,
Augusta Caligiani, Ilaria
Puxeddu, Martina Cirlini,
Natasja Gianotten, Stefaan
Depraetere, Stefano Sforza
9th International
Symposium on
‘RECENT ADVANCES
IN FOOD ANALYSIS’
University of
Chemistry and
Technology
InDIRECT
• Impact of naturally contaminated
substrates on Alphitobius
diaperinus and Hermetia illucens:
uptake and excretion of mycotoxins
C. Dall’Asta, G. Leni, M. Cirlini, J.
Jacobs, S. Depraetere, N.
Gianotten, S. Sforza. 2019
9th International
Symposium on
‘RECENT ADVANCES
IN FOOD ANALYSIS’
University of
Chemistry and
Technology
InDIRECT
Impact of side-stream based feed
on the composition of the lesser
mealworm larvae
Lise Soetemans, Natasja
Gianotten, Leen Bastiaens Insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT Insects as an alternative source for
chitin or chitosan
Lise Soetemans, Miet van Dael,
Stefano Sforza, Leen Bastiaens Insecta 2019
Publisher
proceedings:
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
InDIRECT
Optimal rearing of Alphitobius
diaperinus on organic side-streams
in the InDIRECT project
N. Gianotten, J. Roels, M.
Lopez, S. Sforza, L. Bastiaens insecta 2019
Leibniz-Institut für
agrartechnik und
Bioökonomie
241
InDIRECT
Impact of Naturally Contaminated
Substrates on Alphitobius
diaperinus and Hermetia illucens:
Uptake and Excretion of
Mycotoxins
Giulia Leni, Martina Cirlini,
Johan Jacobs, Stefaan
Depraetere, Natasja Gianotten,
Stefano Sforza, Chiara
Dall’Asta
Toxins
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
InDIRECT
Use of organic acids to improve
fractionation of the black soldier fly
larvae juice into lipid- and protein-
enriched fractions
Lise Soetemans, Maarten
Uyttebroek, Els D’Hondt, Leen
Bastiaens
European Food
Research and
Technology
Springer Verlag
LIBBIO
Genetics and Breeding of Lupinus
mutabilis: An Emerging Protein
Crop
Agata Gulisano, Sofia Alves,
João Neves Martins, Luisa M.
Trindade
Frontiers in Plant
Science
Frontiers Media S.
A.
LIBRE
Bio‐derived carbon nanofibers
from lignin as high-performance Li‐
ion anode materials
Mario Culebras, Hugh Geaney,
Anne Beaucamp, Prathviraj
Upadhyaya, Eric Dalton, Kevin
M Ryan[, Maurice N Collins
ChemSusChem Wiley - V C H Verlag
GmbbH & Co.
LIBRE
Biopolymer blends from hardwood
lignin and bio-polyamides:
Compatibility and miscibility
R. Muthuraj, M. Hajee, A.R.
Horrocks, B.K. Kandola
International
Journal of Biological
Macromolecules
Elsevier BV
LIBRE
Carbon fibres from renewable
resources: the role of the lignin
molecular structure in its
blendability with bio-based
poly(ethylene terephthalate)
Anne Beaucamp, Yan Wang,
Mario Culebras, Maurice N.
Collins
Green Chemistry Royal Society of
Chemistry
LIBRE
Prospective study of lignin-based
and recycled carbon fibers in
composites through meta-analysis
of life cycle assessments
Frida Hermansson, Matty
Janssen, Magdalena
Svanström
Journal of Cleaner
Production Elsevier BV
242
LIBRE
Thermoelectric properties of
electrospun carbon nanofibres
derived from lignin
Niall Dalton, Robert P. Lynch,
Maurice N. Collins, Mario
Culebras
International
Journal of Biological
Macromolecules
Elsevier BV
LIBRE
Valorization of lignin in polymer
and composite systems for
advanced engineering applications
– A review
Maurice N. Collins, Mărioara
Nechifor, Fulga Tanasă,
Mădălina Zănoagă, Anne
McLoughlin, Michał A. Stróżyk,
Mario Culebras, Carmen-Alice
Teacă
International
Journal of Biological
Macromolecules
Elsevier BV
LigniOx
LigniOx lignins – A new type of
high-performance concrete
plasticizer
Kalliola, A., Vehmas, T., Liitiä,
T., Baumann, R. Schmitz, M. Springer
LigniOx
Lignin and hemicellulose in
dispersions – as surfactants and
functional materials
Patrik Borenius Tampere University
LigniOx
Post-treatment of oxidised
organosolv lignin for versatile
dispersant applications using
membrane filtration -Evaluating the
significance and feasibility of a two-
stage membrane
filtration
Adam Aryo Wibowo KU Leuven
LIGNOFLAG
Comparison of advanced fuels—
Which technology can win from the
life cycle perspective?
Daniel C. Rosenfeld, Johannes
Lindorfer, Karin Fazeni-Fraisl
Journal of Cleaner
Production Elsevier BV
LIPES STC-Engineering mit
Forschungsprojekt LIPES
Patrick Jobst (STC-Engineering
GmbH) Verfahrenstechnik
Vereinigte
Fachverlage GmbH
243
LIPES
S-Gamma Model: Fitting of
coalescence and break parameters
with STAR CCM+
Podlecki, M. TU Berlin
LIPES
Enzyme deactivation through
hydrodynamic forces in stirred tank
reactors
Li, B. TU Berlin
LIPES Modelling of enzymatic hydrolysis
kinetics in multiphase systems Grabowski, J. TU Berlin
MACRO
CASCADE
Cultivation technology
development of Rhodothermus
marinus DSM 16675
Emanuel Y. C. Ron, Roya R. R.
Sardari, Richard Anthony, Ed
W. J. van Niel, Gudmundur O.
Hreggvidsson, Eva Nordberg-
Karlsson
Extremophiles Springer Verlag
MACRO
CASCADE
Proteomic enzyme analysis of the
marine fungus Paradendryphiella
salina reveals alginate lyase as a
minimal adaptation strategy for
brown algae degradation
Bo Pilgaard, Casper Wilkens,
Florian-Alexander Herbst,
Marlene Vuillemin, Nanna
Rhein-Knudsen, Anne S.
Meyer, Lene Lange
Scientific Reports Nature Publishing
Group
MAGNIFICENT
CRISPR–Cas ribonucleoprotein
mediated homology-directed repair
for efficient targeted genome
editing in microalgae
Nannochloropsis oceanica IMET1
Mihris Ibnu Saleem Naduthodi,
Prarthana Mohanraju,
Christian Südfeld, Sarah
D’Adamo, Maria J. Barbosa,
John van der Oost
Biotechnology for
Biofuels BMC
NewFert
Understanding nitrogen recovery
from wastewater with a high
nitrogen concentration using
microbial electrolysis cells
M. Isabel San-Martín, Raúl
Mateos, Adrián Escapa,
Antonio Morán
Journal of
Environmental
Science and Health,
Part A
Marcel Dekker Inc.
244
NEWPACK Incorporation of Waste Orange
Peels Extracts Into PLA Films
Bassani, A., Montes, S., Jubete,
E., Palenzuela, J., Sanjuan, A. P.,
& Spigno, G.
Chemical
Engineering
Transactions
The Italian
Association of
Chemical
Engineering
NEWPACK Piezoresistive Carbon Foams in
Sensing Applications Krisztian Kordas, Olli Pitkänen
Frontiers in
Materials Frontiers Media SA
PERCAL
Assessing the organic fraction of
municipal solid wastes for the
production of lactic acid
J. Pablo López-Gómez, Marcos
Latorre-Sánchez, Peter Unger,
Roland Schneider, Caterina
Coll Lozano, Joachim Venus
Biochemical
Engineering Journal Elsevier BV
POLYBIOSKIN Baby Diapers Past and Present: A
Critical Review
Pietro Febo and Alessandro
Gagliardini (edited by
Pierfrancesco Morganti)
Bionanotechnology
to save the
environment.
Plants and fishery’s
biomass as
alternative to petrol
MDPI
PROVIDES
A Search for Natural Hydrophobic
Deep Eutectic Solvents Based on
Natural Components
Dannie J. G. P. van Osch, Carin
H. J. T. Dietz, Jaap van
Spronsen, Maaike C. Kroon,
Fausto Gallucci, Martin van
Sint Annaland, Remco Tuinier
ACS Sustainable
Chemistry &
Engineering
American Chemical
Society
ReInvent
Improving the sustainability of bio-
based polyurethane foam through
the addition of a reactive food
waste: walnut shell
L. Verdolotti, F. De Luca Bossa,
P. Campaner, M. Oliviero, M.
Lavorgna, S. Iannace, G.G.
Buonocore
SLIM 2019. 9° Shelf
life International
Meeting
SLIM
ReInvent
Modification of Nanocristalline
Cellulose As Bio-reinforcement For
Polyurethanes Foams
Francesca Coccia
World Forum on
Advanced
Materials, Polychar
27
245
ReSolve
A comparison of the solvation
power of the green solvent 2,2,5,5-
tetramethyloxolane versus toluene
via partition coefficients
Fergal P. Byrne, William M.
Hodds, Seishi Shimizu, Thomas
J. Farmer, Andrew J. Hunt
Journal of Cleaner
Production Elsevier BV
ReSolve
A Method of Calculating the
Kamlet–Abboud–Taft
Solvatochromic Parameters Using
COSMO-RS
James Sherwood, Joe Granelli,
Con R. McElroy, James H. Clark Molecules
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
ReSolve
Safer bio-based solvents to replace
toluene and tetrahydrofuran for
the biocatalysed synthesis of
polyesters
Alessandro Pellis, Fergal P.
Byrne, James Sherwood, Marco
Vastano, James W. Comerford,
Thomas J. Farmer
Green Chemistry Royal Society of
Chemistry
RoadToBio
Paving the way to a bio-based
future for the European chemical
industry
Christopher vom Berg
Portal for bio-based
economy and
industrial
biotechnology
(Link:
http://news.bio-
based.eu/ )
nova-Institut GmbH
RoadToBio
Roadmap soll helfen Anteil
biobasierter Chemikalien zu
steigern
Ruebberdt, Kathrin
Koenig, Lea
Vogel
Communications
Group GmbH & Co.
KG
246
SSUCHY
Permeability characterisation of
braided fabrics made of hemp
fibers
Felice Rubino, Anne-Clémence
Corbin, Manuela Ferreira,
Ahmad Rashed Labbanieh,
Luigi Sanguigno, Damien
Soulat, Angelo Maligno
PROCEEDINGS OF
THE 22ND
INTERNATIONAL
ESAFORM
CONFERENCE ON
MATERIAL
FORMING:
ESAFORM 2019
AIP Publishing
SSUCHY
About the fatigue endurance of
unidirectional flax-epoxy composite
laminates
Thomas Jeannin, Xavier
Gabrion, Emmanuel Ramasso,
Vincent Placet
Composites Part B:
Engineering
Pergamon Press
Ltd.
SSUCHY
Improving moisture durability of
flax fibre composites by using non-
dry fibres
Maria Morissa Lu, Aart Willem
Van Vuure
Composites Part A:
Applied Science
and Manufacturing
Pergamon Press
Ltd.
SSUCHY
New Reactive Isoeugenol Based
Phosphate Flame Retardant:
Toward Green Epoxy Resins
Sylvie Pourchet, Rodolphe
Sonnier, Marwa Ben-
Abdelkader, Yves Gaillard,
Quentin Ruiz, Vincent Placet,
Laurent Plasseraud, Gilles Boni
ACS Sustainable
Chemistry &
Engineering
American Chemical
Society
SusBind
Modulating Fatty Acid Epoxidation
vs Hydroxylation in a Fungal
Peroxygenase
Juan Carro, Alejandro
González-Benjumea, Elena
Fernández-Fueyo, Carmen
Aranda, Victor Guallar, Ana
Gutiérrez, Angel T. Martínez
ACS Catalysis American Chemical
Society
TECH4EFFECT
Assessing Cable Tensile Forces and
Machine Tilt of Winch-Assisted
Forwarders on Steep Terrain under
Real Working Conditions
Thomas Holzfeind, Christian
Kanzian, Karl Stampfer, Franz
Holzleitner
Croatian journal of
forest engineering
Faculty of Forestry,
University of
Zagreb
247
TECH4EFFECT
Decreasing the Fuel Consumption
and CO2 Emissions of Excavator-
Based Harvesters with a Machine
Control System
Raffaele Spinelli, Angelo de
Arruda Moura Forests
MDPI Open Access
Publishing
TECH4EFFECT
Effects of intensified silviculture on
timber production and its economic
profitability in boreal Norway
spruce and Scots pine stands under
changing climatic conditions
J Routa, A Kilpeläinen, V -P
Ikonen, A Asikainen, A
Venäläinen, H Peltola
Forestry: An
International
Journal of Forest
Research
Oxford University
Press
TECH4EFFECT Productivity in Mechanizing Early
Tending in Spruce Seedling Stands
Johanna Routa, Yrjö Nuutinen,
Antti Asikainen
Croatian journal of
forest engineering
Faculty of Forestry,
University of
Zagreb
TECH4EFFECT
Spatial distribution of the potential
forest biomass availability in
Europe
Pieter Johannes Verkerk,
Joanne Brighid Fitzgerald,
Pawan Datta, Matthias Dees,
Geerten Martijn Hengeveld,
Marcus Lindner, Sergey Zudin
Forest Ecosystems Springer Open
US4GREENCHE
M
Valorisation of Lignin Enriched
Products obtained at Ultrasonic
Pretreatment and Hydrolysis of
Pre-treated Wheat Straw as Polyols
for Obtaining Polyurethane.
Alexander Arshanitsa
The Conference on
Green Chemistry
and
Nanotechnologies
in Polymeric
Materials
The Conference on
Green Chemistry
and
Nanotechnologies
in Polymeric
Materials
248
US4GREENCHE
M
Cavitational treatments for wheat
straw valorisation
Liga Lauberte, Galina
Telysheva*, Giancarlo
Cravotto, Tatiana Dizhbite,
Alexandr Arshanitsa, Laima
Vevere, Vilhelmine Jurkjane,
Anna Andersone, Giorgio
Grillo, Emanuela Calcio
Gaudino, Silvia Tabasso
Industrial Crops
and Products”
Industrial Crops
and Products
US4GREENCHE
M Communication and flyers Prof. Dr. Schories, Gerhard
BBI JU event
Brussels TTZ Bremerhaven
US4GREENCHE
M
Lignocellulosic biomass valorisation
by reductive depolymerization in
supercritical ethanol
Dr. Eduardo J. Garcia-Suarez Symposium on
Green Chemistry
Symposium on
Green Chemistry
US4GREENCHE
M
Microwave technology towards a
greener chemistry Msc. Giorgio Grillo
Workshop at
university of
Timisoara
University of
Timisoara
US4GREENCHE
M
Two approaches for valorisation of
lignin enriched products from
GreenChem wheat straw
processing
Alexander Arshanitsa, Laima
.Vevere, Matis Pals;
GalinaTelysheva, Gian carlo
Cravotto, Anu Koivula.
Journal of
Renewable
Materials
Journal of
Renewable
Materials
US4GREENCHE
M
Purification and characterization of
fungal β-glucosidase enzymes Sara Kataja Master Thesis
University of
Helsinki
ValChem
Reactivity of Isocyanate-
Functionalised Lignins: A Key Factor
for the Preparation of Lignin-Based
Polyurethanes
Mareike Zieglowski, Simon
Trosien, Jochen Rohrer,
Sabrina Mehlhase, Simone
Weber, Kerstin Bartels, Gregor
Siegert, Taina Trellenkamp,
Karsten Albe, Markus Biesalski
Frontiers in
Chemistry
Frontiers in
Chemistry
249
VALUEMAG Birth of a Serious Escape Game for
Chemical Engineering Labs
Casella, Patrizia; Rimauro, Juri;
Iovine, Angela; Mehariya,
Sanjeet; Musmarra, Dino;
Molino, Antonio
Characterization of
extracts from
Haematococcus
pluvialis red phase
by using
Accelerated solvent
extraction
Chemical
engineering
transaction
VALUEMAG
Extraction of carotenes and lutein
from dunaliella salina microalgae
using pressurised liquid extraction
Sharma, N.; Mehariya, S.;
Martino, M.; Larocca, V.; Sanzo,
G. D.; Balducchi, R.; Iovine, A.;
Karatza, D.; Marino, T.;
Musmarra, D.; Molino, A.
27th European
Biomass
Conference and
Exhibition
VALUEMAG
Bench-Scale Cultivation of
Microalgae Scenedesmus
almeriensis for CO2 Capture and
Lutein Production
Antonio Molino, Sanjeet
Mehariya, Despina Karatza,
Simeone Chianese, Angela
Iovine, Patrizia Casella, Tiziana
Marino, Dino Musmarra
Energies
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
VALUEMAG
Characterization of Extracts from
Haematococcus pluvialis Red Phase
by using Accelerated Solvent
Extraction
Casella, P.; Rimauro, J.; Iovine,
A.; Mehariya, S.; Musmarra, D.;
Molino, A.
Cehmical
engineering
trandaction - CET
AIDIC
VALUEMAG
Effect of mechanical pretreatment
on Nannochloropsis gaditana on
the extraction of omega-3 by using
accelerated solvent extraction
technology
Iovine, A.; Cerbone, A.;
Mehariya, S.; Musmarra, D.;
Casella, P.; Molino, A.
Chemical
engineering
transaction CET
The Italian
Association of
Chemical
Engineering Online
at
www.cetjournal.it
250
VALUEMAG
Eicosapentaenoic Acid Extraction
from Nannochloropsis gaditana
using Carbon Dioxide at
Supercritical Conditions
Antonio Molino, Maria
Martino, Vincenzo Larocca,
Giuseppe Di Sanzo, Anna
Spagnoletta, Tiziana Marino,
Despina Karatza, Angela
Iovine, Sanjeet Mehariya, Dino
Musmarra
Marine Drugs
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
VALUEMAG Extraction of Bioactive Compounds
Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Antonio Molino, Vincenzo
Larocca, Giuseppe Di Sanzo,
Maria Martino, Patrizia Casella,
Tiziana Marino, Despina
Karatza, Dino Musmarra
Molecules
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
VALUEMAG
Scenedesmus almeriensis solutions
dewatering by using PVDF
membrane
Marino, T.; Figoli, A.; Chianese,
E.; Rimauro, J.; Mehariya, S.;
Musmarra, D.; Molino, A.
Chemical
Engineering
transaction CET
AIDIC
VALUEMAG
Selective Extraction of ω-3 Fatty
Acids from Nannochloropsis sp.
Using Supercritical CO2 Extraction
Gian Paolo Leone, Roberto
Balducchi, Sanjeet Mehariya,
Maria Martino, Vincenzo
Larocca, Giuseppe Di Sanzo,
Angela Iovine, Patrizia Casella,
Tiziana Marino, Despina
Karatza, Simeone Chianese,
Dino Musmarra, Antonio
Molino
Molecules
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
251
VALUEMAG
Supercritical Fluid Extraction of
Lutein from Scenedesmus
almeriensis
Sanjeet Mehariya, Angela
Iovine, Giuseppe Di Sanzo,
Vincenzo Larocca, Maria
Martino, Gian Leone, Patrizia
Casella, Despina Karatza,
Tiziana Marino, Dino
Musmarra, Antonio Molino
Molecules
Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing
Institute (MDPI)
VIPRISCAR
Catalyst screening to produce
isosorbide bis(methyl carbonate), a
green monomer for non-isocyanate
polyurethanes and polycarbonates
manufacturing.
JR Ochoa-Gómez
Global Chemical
Engineering and
Chemistry
Conference Expo
WoodZymes
Engineering of a fungal laccase to
develop a robust, versatile and
highly-expressed biocatalyst for
sustainable chemistry
Felipe de Salas, Pablo Aza, Joan
F. Gilabert, Gerard Santiago,
Sibel Kilic, Mehmet E. Sener,
Jesper Vind, Víctor Guallar,
Angel T. Martínez, Susana
Camarero
Green Chemistry Royal Society of
Chemistry
WoodZymes
Structural and biochemical insights
into an engineered high-redox
potential laccase overproduced in
Aspergillus
Felipe de Salas, Rubén
Cañadas, Gerard Santiago,
Alicia Virseda-Jerez, Jesper
Vind, Patrizia Gentili, Angel T.
Martínez, Víctor Guallar, Inés
G. Muñoz, Susana Camarero
International
Journal of Biological
Macromolecules
Elsevier BV
Zelcor
Chemo-enzymatically prepared
lignin nanoparticles for value-
added applications
Alexander Henn, Maija-Liisa
Mattinen
World Journal of
Microbiology and
Biotechnology
Kluwer Academic
Publishers
252
Zelcor
Enhancing the Antioxidant Activity
of Technical Lignins by Combining
Solvent Fractionation and Ionic‐
Liquid Treatment
Amel Majira, Blandine Godon,
Laurence Foulon, Jacinta C.
Putten, Laurent Cézard,
Marina Thierry, Florian Pion,
Anne Bado‐Nilles, Pascal
Pandard, Thangavelu
Jayabalan, Véronique Aguié‐
Béghin, Paul‐Henri Ducrot,
Catherine Lapierre, Guy
Marlair, Richard J. A. Gosselink,
Stephanie Baumberger, Betty
Cottyn
ChemSusChem Wiley - V C H Verlag
GmbbH & Co.
253
7.4. PATENTS FROM PROJECTS
Based on data provided by the 101 funded BBI JU projects via the ‘continuous reporting’
module of the Funding and Tenders Portal, 47 patent applications were submitted by the
end of 2019 (compared to 31 reported submitted patents by the end of 2018). The table
below shows the number of patent applications reported by the projects. Summarising,
19 patent applications were submitted by RIA projects, 16 by DEMO projects and 12 by
FLAG projects.
Project Acronym Number of Patent
Applications until end of
2019
Type of Action
BIOFOREVER 1 DEMO
BIOMOTIVE 4 DEMO
CARBOSURF 1 RIA
EFFECTIVE 1 DEMO
EMBRACED 2 DEMO
EnzOx2 4 RIA
EXILVA 10 FLAG
FRESH 2 DEMO
GreenLight 1 RIA
HYPERBIOCOAT 2 RIA
InDIRECT 2 RIA
LIBRE 3 RIA
LigniOx 1 DEMO
MACRO CASCADE 1 RIA
NewFert 1 RIA
PULP2VALUE 4 DEMO
SHERPACK 1 RIA
SusBIND 1 RIA
SWEETWOODS 2 FLAG
US4GREENCHEM 2 RIA
ValChem 1 DEMO
254
7.5. SCOREBOARD OF HORIZON 2020 COMMON KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
IND
US
TR
IAL L
EA
DE
RS
HIP
12
SME - Share of
participating
SMEs
introducing
innovations
new to the
company or
the market
(covering the
period of the
project plus
three years);
Based on
Community
Innovation
Survey (?).
Number and %
of participating
SMEs that have
introduced
innovations to
the company or
to the market;
Number of
SMEs that
have
introduced
innovations
;
Cumulative figures118:
97 innovations introduced by SMEs in the company
119 innovations introduced by SMEs in the market
na
118 Based on input from 82 projects from calls 2014-2017, and as per information available in CORDA. (Data is reported globally per project with no indication of SME share)
255
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
13 SME - Growth
and job
creation in
participating
SMEs
Turnover of
company,
number of
employees
Turnover of
company,
number of
employees;
Cumulative figures119 :
Turnover: EUR 1 403 913 211
Employees: 7 873
na
SO
CIE
TA
L C
HA
LL
EN
GE
S
14 Publications in
peer-reviewed
high impact
journals
The percentage
of papers
published in
the top 10%
impact ranked
journals by
subject
category.
Publication
s from
relevant
funded
projects
(DOI: Digital
Object
Identifiers);
Journal
impact
benchmark
(ranking)
data to be
See Section 7.3
119 Based on input from 75 projects out of 82. Number of SMEs (unique beneficiaries) providing data: 267 out of 295
256
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
collected by
commercial
ly available
bibliometric
databases.
15 Patent
applications
and patents
awarded in the
area of the JTI
Number of
patent
applications by
theme; Number
of awarded
patents by
theme
Patent
application
number
Section 7.4
16 Number of
prototypes
testing
activities
Number of
prototypes,
testing
(feasibility/demo
) activities
Reports on
prototypes,
and testing
activities,
126 2 266 214 95 91 N.A.
257
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
17 Number of
joint public-
private
publications in
projects
Number and
share of joint
public-private
publications out
of all relevant
publications.
Properly
flagged
publications
data (DOI)
from
relevant
funded
projects
21 0 21 6 0 0
N.A.
18 New products,
processes,
and methods
launched into
the market
Number of
projects with
new innovative
products,
processes, and
methods,
Project
count and
drop-down
list allowing
to choose
the type
processes,
products,
methods,
20
6 34 36 21 N.A. N.A.
258
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
EVA
LUA
TIO
N
NA
Time to
inform (TTI) all
applicants of
the outcome
of the
evaluation of
their
application
from the final
date for
submission of
completed
proposals
To provide
applicants with
high-quality and
timely
evaluation
results and
feedback after
each evaluation
step by
implementing
and monitoring
a high scientific
level peer
reviewed
process
Number
and % of
information
letters sent
to
applicants
within
target
Average TTI
(calendar
days)
Maximum
TTI
(calendar
days)
38
letters
(100%)
Average
: 146
Max:
153
9 letters
(100%)
Average
: 86
Max:
153
73
letters
(100%)
Average
: 141
Max:
153
103
letters
(100%)
Averag
e: 99
Max:
153
149
letters
(100%)
Averag
e: 99
Max:
153
144
letters
(100%)
Average:
102
Max: 153
184 letters
(100%)
Average:
104
Max: 153
259
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
NA
Redress after
evaluations
To provide
applicants with
high-quality and
timely
evaluation
results and
feedback after
each evaluation
step by
implementing
and monitoring
a high scientific
level peer
reviewed
process
Number of
redresses
requested
0 0 0 2120 1121 2122 1123
120 The result of the evaluation review concluded that the two complaints were unfounded.
121 The result of the evaluation review concluded that the complaint was unfounded.
122 The result of the evaluation review concluded that the two complaints were unfounded.
123 No results yet, still being processed.
260
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
GR
AN
TS
NA
Time to grant
(TTG)
measured
(average) from
Call deadline
to signature of
grants
To minimise the
duration of the
granting
process aiming
at ensuring a
prompt
implementation
of the Grant
Agreements
through a
simple and
transparent
grant
Number
and % of
grants
signed
within
target
Average
TTG in
calendar
days
Maximum
TTG in
calendar
days
10
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 240.8
Maximu
m: 245
3
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 227
Maximu
m: 245
23
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 239
Maximu
m: 245
29
Grants
(100%)
Averag
e: 231
Target:
245
17
Grants
(100%)
Averag
e: 231
Target:
245
19
Grants
(98%)
Average:
235
Target:
245
N.A.
261
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
NA
Time to sign
(TTS) grant
agreements
from the date
of informing
successful
applicants
(information
letters)
preparation
process
Number
and % of
grants
signed
within
target
Average
TTG in
calendar
days
Maximum
TTG in
calendar
days
10
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 94
Maximu
m: 126
3
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 141
Maximu
m:155
23
Grants
(100%)
Average
: 98
Maximu
m: 103
29
Grants
(100%)
Averag
e: 132
Maxim
um:
143
17
Grants
(100%)
Averag
e: 132
Maxim
um:
140
19
Grants
(98%)
Average:
133
Maximu
m: 140
N.A.
262
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
PA
YM
ENTS
NA
Time to pay
(TTP) (% made
on time)
-pre-financing
- interim
payment
-final payment
To optimise the
payments
circuits, both
operational and
administrative,
including
payments to
experts
Average
number of
days for
Grants pre-
financing,
interim
payments
and final
payments;
Number of
experts
appointed
Average
number of
days for
administrati
ve
payments;
14.3
days for
pre-
financin
g;
no
interim
and
final
paymen
ts yet;
Experts:
31
16 days
for
pre-
financin
g
no
interim
and
final
paymen
ts yet;
Experts:
13
23 days
for
pre-
financin
g
no
interim
and
final
paymen
ts yet;
Experts:
63
10.4
days
for
pre-
financi
ng
no
interi
m and
final
payme
nts
yet;
Expert
s: 84
11.4
days
for
pre-
financi
ng
no
interim
and
final
payme
nts yet;
Experts
: 109
9.9 days
for
pre-
financing
no
interim
and final
payment
s yet;
Experts:
100
No pre-
financing,
interim and
final
payments
Experts: 140
Administrative time to pay for year 2019: 17.5 days
263
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
HR
NA
Vacancy rate
(%)
% of posts
filled in,
compositio
n of the JU
staff
95% Posts filled in: 22 posts out of 23 were filled at the end of 2019
264
JU E
FFIC
IEN
CY
NA
Budget
implementatio
n/execution:
1. % CA to
total budget
2. % PA to
total budget
Realistic yearly
budget
proposal,
possibility to
monitor and
report on its
execution, both
in commitment
(CA) and
payments (PA),
in line with
sound financial
management
principle
% of CA and
PA
CA:
96.4%
PA: No
paymen
ts
execute
d in
2014
CA:
73.7%
PA:
98.18%
(pre-
financin
g of the
2014
projects
)
CA: 99%
PA: No
paymen
ts
execute
d in
2015
CA:
97.9%
PA:
99.4%
(pre-
financi
ng of
the
2016
call
and 10
payme
nts of
periodi
c
report
s of
call
2014)
CA:
99.9%
PA:
70.4%
(pre-
financi
ng of
the
2017
call and
32
payme
nts of
periodi
c
reports
of
previou
s calls)
CA:
87.2%
PA:
75.8%
(pre-
financing
of the
2018 call
and 43
payment
s of
periodic
reports
of
previous
calls)
N
A
Administrative
Budget:
Number and
% of total of
late payments
Realistic yearly
budget
proposal,
possibility to
monitor and
report on its
Number of
delayed
payments
% of
delayed
payments
Not
Applica
ble (pre-
autono
my
phase).
49 Late Payments
in 2016
10% of delayed
payments
49
Late
Payme
nts in
2017
66 Late
Payme
nts in
2018
10% of
delaye
65 Late
Payment
s in 2019
9% of
delayed
265
Key
Performance
Indicator
Definition/Res
ponding to
Question
Type of
Data
Required
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.1
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-
PPP-
2015.2
Call
Horizo
n
2020-
BBI-
JTI-
2016
Call
Horizo
n 2020-
BBI-JTI-
2017
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019 (under
GAP)
execution in line
with sound
financial
management
principle
(of the
total)
All
paymen
ts
execute
d by
EC/DG
RTD
9% of
delaye
d
payme
nts
d
payme
nts
payment
s
266
7.6. INDICATORS FOR MONITORING CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
2
Wid
en
ing
th
e p
art
icip
ati
on
2.1 Total number of
participations by EU28
Member State
Nationality of Horizon
2020 applicants &
beneficiaries (number of)
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
2.2 Total amount of EU
financial contribution
by EU28 Member State
(EUR millions)
Nationality of Horizon
2020 beneficiaries and
corresponding EU
financial contribution
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
NA
Total number of
participations by
associated countries
Nationality of Horizon
2020 applicants &
beneficiaries (number of)
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
2
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
and Call specific
figures provided
in section 1.3.2
NA
Total amount of EU
financial contribution
by associated country
(EUR millions)
Nationality of Horizon
2020 beneficiaries and
corresponding EU
financial contribution
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
267
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
3
SM
Es
pa
rtic
ipa
tio
n
3.1 Share of EU
financial contribution
going to SMEs (Enabling
& industrial tech and
Part III of Horizon 2020)
Number of Horizon 2020
beneficiaries flagged as
SME;
% of EU contribution
going to beneficiaries
flagged as SME
25
flagged as
SME (24.5%)
20% of EU
contribution
going to
SME
9
flagged as
SME (36%)
8.41% of EU
contribution
going to
SME
110
flagged as SME
(40.14%)
37.3% of EU
contribution
going to SME
131
flagged as SME
(40.18%)
25.8% of EU
contribution
going to SME
75
flagged as SME
(39%)
38% of EU
contribution
going to SME
74 flagged as SME
(34%)
42% of EU
contribution
going to SME
93 flagged as SME
(41%)
54% of EU
contribution
going to SME
6
Ge
nd
er
6.1 Percentage of
women participants in
Horizon 2020 projects
Gender of participants in
Horizon 2020 projects Not available
6.2 Percentage of
women project
coordinators in Horizon
2020
Gender of MSC fellows,
ERC principle
investigators and
scientific coordinators in
other Horizon 2020
activities
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
6.3 Percentage of
women in EC advisory
groups, expert groups,
evaluation panels,
individual experts, etc.
Gender of memberships
in advisory groups,
panels, etc.
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section
1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures
provided in
section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
Cumulative
figures provided
in section 1.3.1.1
7
Inte
rna
tio
na
l
coo
pe
rati
on
7.1 Share of third-
country participants in
Horizon 2020
Nationality of Horizon
2020 beneficiaries 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
268
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
7.2 Percentage of EU
financial contribution
attributed to third
country participants
Nationality of Horizon
2020 beneficiaries and
corresponding EU
financial contribution
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9
Bri
dg
ing
fro
m
dis
cove
ry t
o m
ark
et
12
4
9.1 Share of projects
and EU financial
contribution allocated
to Innovation Actions
(IAs)
Number of IA proposals
and projects properly
flagged in the WP; follow
up at grant level.
Number of
proposals:
18
Number of
projects: 3
Number of
proposals: 9
Number of
projects: 3
Number of
proposals: 24
Number of
projects:9
Number of
proposals:26
Number of
projects:11
Number of
proposals:69
Number of
projects:5
Number of
proposals:68
Number of
projects:7
Number of
proposals:67
Number of
projects:8
9.2 Within the
innovation actions,
share of EU financial
contribution focused on
demonstration and
first-of-a-kind activities
Topics properly flagged
in the WP; follow-up at
grant level
1 FLAG
(34%)
2 DEMO
(39.7%)
3 FLAG
(100%) 9 DEMO (59.5%)
2 FLAG (25.3%)
9 DEMO (43.7%)
1 FLAG
(24%)
4 DEMO
(29%)
2 FLAG (36%)
5 DEMO (32%)
2 FLAG (27%)
6 DEMO (27%)
NA
Scale of impact of
projects (High
Technology Readiness
Level)
Number of projects
addressing TRL125
between (4-6, 5-7)?
7 RIA TRL 3-
5
2 DEMO TRL
6-7
1 FLAG TRL
8-9
3 FLAG TRL
8-9
11 RIA TRL 3-5
9 DEMO TRL 6-7
11 RIA TRL 3-5
9 DEMO TRL 6-7
2 FLAG TRL 8-9
10 RIA TRL 3-5
4 DEMO TRL 6-7
1 FLAG
TRL 8-9
9 RIA TRL 3-5
5 DEMO TRL 6-7
2 FLAG TRL 8-9
12 RIA TRL 3-5
6 DEMO TRL 6-7
2 FLAG TRL 8-9
124 This indicator (9.2) is initially intended to monitor the Digital Agenda (its applicability could be only partial)
125 TRL: Technology Readiness Level
269
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
11
Pri
va
te s
ect
or
pa
rtic
ipa
tio
n
11.1 Percentage of
Horizon 2020
beneficiaries from the
private-for-profit sector
Number of and % of the
total Horizon 2020
beneficiaries classified
by type of activity and
legal status
66
beneficiaries
64%
18
beneficiaries
72%
168
beneficiaries
61%
190 BBI JU
beneficiaries
58.2%
120 BBI JU
beneficiaries
62%
147 BBI JU
Beneficiaries
62%
154 BBI JU
Beneficiaries
56%
11.2 Share of EU
financial contribution
going to private-for-
profit entities (Enabling
& industrial tech and
Part III of Horizon 2020)
Horizon 2020
beneficiaries classified
by type of activity;
corresponding EU
contribution
73.6% 94.2% 58% 67.6% 61% 68% 65.2%
12
Fu
nd
ing
fo
r P
PP
s
12.1 EU financial
contribution for PPP
(Art 187)
EU contribution to PPP
(Art 187) according to
the respective AWP
EUR
50,000,000
EUR
100,000,000
EUR
106,000,000 EUR 187,900,000 EUR 81,000,000 EUR 115,000,000 EUR 135,000,000
12.2 PPPs leverage:
total amount of funds
leveraged through Art.
187 initiatives, including
additional activities,
divided by the EU
contribution
Total funding made by
private actors involved in
PPPs
- in-kind contribution
already committed by
private members in
project selected for
funding
- additional activities (i.e.
research
expenditures/investment
of industry in the sector,
compared to previous
year)
Figures
provided in
sections
1.3.1.3
Figures
provided in
sections
1.3.1.3
Figures
provided in
sections 1.3.1.3
Figures provided
in sections
1.3.1.3
Figures provided
in sections 1.3.1.3
Figures provided
in sections 1.3.1.3
Figures provided
in sections 1.3.1.3
270
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
13
Co
mm
un
ica
tio
n a
nd
dis
sem
ina
tio
n 13.3 Dissemination and
outreach activities
other than peer-
reviewed publications -
[Conferences,
workshops, press
releases, publications,
flyers, exhibitions,
trainings, social media,
websites,
communication
campaigns (e.g. radio,
TV)]
A drop-down list allows
to choose the type of
dissemination activity.
Number of events,
funding amount and
number of persons
reached thanks to the
dissemination activities
Information
is provided
in section
1.5
information
is provided
in section
1.5
information is
provided in
section 1.5
information is
provided in
section 1.5
information is
provided in
section 1.5
Not available yet
(some
information is
provided in
section 1.5)
Not available yet
(some
information is
provided in
section 1.5)
14
Pa
rtic
ipa
tio
n p
att
ern
s o
f
ind
ep
en
de
nt
exp
ert
s
14.2 Proposal
evaluators by country
Nationality of proposal
evaluators
EU28:
15F/16M
EU28: 4F/6M EU28: 26F/28M
AC: 1F/3M
Other: 0F/1M
EU28: 31F/44M
AC: 1F/1M
Other: 1F/2M
EU28: 38F/61M
AC: 2F/4M
Other: 4M
EU28:
46F/48M
AC: 2F/2M Other:
0F/2M
EU28: 63F/ 66M
AC: 1F/4M
Other: 1F/5M
14.3 Proposal
evaluators by
organisations' type of
activity
Type of activity of
evaluators' organisations Not
available126
Not
available Not available Not available Not available Not available Not available
126 Data collected via the Expert Management system are too scattered and unstable, thus an in-depth analysis is too resource consuming and unreliable.
271
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
NA
Pa
rtic
ipa
tio
n o
f R
TO
s a
nd
Un
ive
rsit
ies
Participation of RTO127s
and Universities in PPPs
(Art 187 initiatives)
Number of participations
of RTOs to funded
projects and % of the
total
Number of participations
of Universities to funded
projects and % of the
total
% of budget allocated to
RTOs and to Universities
RTO: 22;
21.36%
participation
HES: 9;
8.74%
participation
RTO:15% of
the budget
HES: 6.6% of
the budget
RTO: 4; 16%
participation
HES: 2; 8%
participation
RTO:2.8% of
the budget
HES: 2% of
the budget
RTO: 55; 20.07%
participation
HES: 36; 13.14%
participation
RTO: 26.86% of
the budget
HES:12.21% of
the budget
RTO: 63; 19.27%
participation
HES: 45; 13.76%
participation
RTO: 15.54% of
the budget
HES: 14.35% of
the budget
RTO 41: = 21%
HES: 24 = 12%
RTO: 22 % of
budget
HES: 13% of
budget
RTO: 42 = 18%
HES: 31 = 13%
RTO: 14% of
budget
HES: 13% of
budget
RTO: 50 = 18%
HES: 34 = 12%
RTO: 20% of
budget
HES: 13% of
budget
NA
Eth
ics
The objective is
ensuring that research
projects funded are
compliant with
provisions on ethics
efficiently
% of proposals not
granted because non-
compliance with ethical
rules/proposals invited
to grant (target 0%); time
to ethics clearance
(target 45 days)128
0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NA
Au
dit
Error rate % of common
representative error; %
residual error Representative Detected Error rate: 0.96%
Residual Error Rate for BBI JU: 0.82%
127 RTO: Research and Technology Organisation
128 Data relates to pre-granting ethics review. This time span runs in parallel to granting process.
272
Cro
ss-c
utt
ing
iss
ue
Definition/Responding
to Question Type of Data Required
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2014
Call
Horizon
2020-
BBI-PPP-
2015.1
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2015.2
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2016
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2017
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2018
Call Horizon
2020-BBI-JTI-
2019
(under GAP)
NA
Implementation of ex-
post audit results
Number of cases
implemented; in total
EUR million; ´of cases
implemented/total cases
20 cases implemented out of 21 launched audits
Negative adjustments: 0.155 EUR million
Notes:
Horizon 2020 applicants - all those who submitted Horizon 2020 proposals
Horizon 2020 beneficiaries - all those who have signed a Horizon 2020 Grant Agreement
Responsible Directorate - DG RTD Directorates and R&I DGs family in charge of the management of Horizon 2020 activities
Services -Executive Agencies and other external bodies in charge of Horizon 2020 activities
Project officer - in charge of managing Horizon 2020 projects in Responsible Directorate/Service including Executive Agencies
273
7.7. SCOREBOARD OF KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SPECIFIC TO BBI JU
Key Performance
Indicator129
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2014
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.1
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.2
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2016
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2017
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2018
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2019
(under GAP)
KPI 1
Number of new cross-
sector
interconnections
212
NA
KPI 2
Number of new bio-
based value chains
realised
180
NA
KPI 3
Number of BBI JU
Grant Agreements
signed
10 3 23 29 17 19
NA
129 BBI JU KPIs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 are based on the figures reported by all BBI JU ongoing projects by the end of 2017. These figures refer to the expected results of the
projects by 2020 or by the end of the project (the earliest date). These results are monitored yearly and are validated at the end of the projects. For more details on the methodology and results, please see section 1.3.1.2 BBI JU projects outcome: BBI JU specific KPIs.
274
Key Performance
Indicator129
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2014
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.1
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.2
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2016
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2017
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2018
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2019
(under GAP)
KPI 4
Number of new bio-
based building blocks
86
NA
KPI 5
Number of new bio-
based materials
183
NA
KPI 6
Number of new bio-
based consumer
products
107
NA
KPI 7
Number of Flagship
biorefinery plants
1 3 0 2 1 2
NA
KPI 8
Number of validated
technologies that have
realised a TRL gain of
at least one level (RIA
projects)
47
NA
275
Key Performance
Indicator129
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2014
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.1
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2015.2
Call
Horizon
2020-BBI-
PPP-2016
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2017
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2018
Call
Horizon 2020-
BBI-PPP-2019
(under GAP)
PPP leverage:
- financial contribution
already committed by
private members in
projects selected for
funding
EUR 750,000 EUR 500,000 EUR 2,000,000
Balance (%) of R&D,
demonstration and
supporting projects
Funding:
DEMO: 39.7%
RIA: 26.08%
FLAG: 34.2%
Funding:
FLAG: 73.7%
Funding:
RIA: 37.7%
DEMO: 59.5%
CSA: 2.9%
Funding:
DEMO:
43.75%
RIA: 29.35%
CSA:1.5%
FLAG: 35.3%
Funding:
DEMO: 28.62%
RIA: 44.65%
CSA: 2.27%
FLAG: 24.47%
Funding:
DEMO: 32%
RIA: 31%
CSA: 2%
FLAG: 36%
EUR X
276
7.8. FINAL ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
Annual accounts of the
Bio-based Industries
Joint Undertaking
Financial year 2019
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277
CONTENTS
CERTIFICATION OF THE ACCOUNTS ........................................................................................... 278
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BBI JU ........................................................................... 279
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES ................................................................ 281
BALANCE SHEET .......................................................................................................................................................... 283
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE ............................................................................................................... 284
CASHFLOW STATEMENT ............................................................................................................................................. 285
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS................................................................................................................... 286
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS .................................................................................................................... 287
THE BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS AND EXPLANATORY NOTES ...................................... 303
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CERTIFICATION OF THE ACCOUNTS
I acknowledge my responsibility for the preparation and presentation of the annual accounts of
the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking in accordance with Article 52 of the Model Financial
Regulation ('MFR')130 and I hereby certify that the annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries
Joint Undertaking for the year 2019 have been prepared in accordance with Chapter 8 of the
MFR and the accounting rules adopted by the Commission's Accounting Officer, as are to be
applied by all the institutions and Union bodies.
I have obtained from the Authorising Officer, who certified its reliability, all the information
necessary for the production of the accounts that show the Bio-based Industries Joint
Undertaking’s assets and liabilities and the budgetary implementation. Based on this
information, and on such checks as I deemed necessary to sign off the accounts, I have a
reasonable assurance that the accounts present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial
position, the results of the operations and the cash-flow of the Bio-based Industries Joint
Undertaking.
Rosa ALDEA BUSQUETS
Accounting Officer of the BBI JU
130 COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private
partnership bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE BBI JU
The Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) was established by the Council Regulation (EU) 560/2014131. The BBI JU is a public-private partnership between the European Union (EU) and the
Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and is based in Brussels. BBI JU is funded by the Members contributing either in cash or in-kind to the administrative and operational costs of the JU. It aims to bring together all relevant stakeholders and contribute to establishing Europe as a key player in the research, demonstration and deployment of advanced bio-based products and biofuels.
BBI JU’s mission is to implement, under Horizon 2020 rules, the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) developed by the industry, by organizing calls for proposals to support research, demonstration and deployment activities enabling the collaboration between stakeholders along the entire value chains
covering primary production of biomass, processing industry and final use.
The objectives of BBI JU are to contribute to a more resource efficient and sustainable low-carbon economy and to increase economic growth and employment, in particular in rural areas, by developing sustainable and competitive bio-based industries in Europe. This is based on advanced biorefineries that source their biomass sustainably and in particular aims to:
Demonstrate technologies that enable new chemical building blocks, new materials and new consumer
products from European biomass, that replace the need for fossil-based inputs;
Develop business models that integrate economic actors along the value chain from supply of biomass to biorefinery plants to consumers of bio-based materials, chemicals and fuels, including the creation of new cross-sector interconnections and supporting cross-industry clusters;
Set-up flagship biorefinery plants that deploy the technologies and business models for bio-based materials, chemicals and fuels and demonstrate cost and performance improvements to levels that are competitive with fossil-based alternatives.
Annual accounts
Following Article 25 of the Model Financial Regulation (MFR)132, the Governing Board of the Joint
Undertaking appoints the Accounting Officer who is, amongst other tasks, responsible for the preparation of the annual accounts.
In accordance with Article 47 of the MFR, the annual accounts are prepared in accordance with the rules adopted by the Accounting Officer of the Commission (EU Accounting Rules, EAR), which are based on internationally accepted accounting standards for the public sector (IPSAS). The annual accounts cover the
period from 1 January to 31 December and comprise the 'financial statements' and the 'reports on the implementation of the budget'. While the financial statements and the complementary notes are based on principles of accrual accounting adapted to the specific environment of the European Union, the budget implementation reports are primarily based on movements of cash.
Following the decision of the BBI JU's Governing Board of 14 October 2014, the Accounting Officer of the Commission acts as the Accounting Officer of BBI JU.
Highlights of the year
BBI JU is in a peak period of its activity, focused mainly on the grant management side. This aspect of BBI’s activities consumes the largest part of the budget and in 2019 involved the launching of the 2019 call for proposals for EUR 118 million, the signature of 17 grant agreements from the previous year’s call for nearly EUR 103 million and the payment of 19 pre-financing and 43 periodic payments for over EUR 133 million. In 2019 BBI managed 44 cost claims from ongoing grant agreements for a total of EUR 70 million, so a larger number compared to 2018 (33). The overall budget implementation of the total
BBI 2019 budget was 87% in commitment appropriations and 76% in payment appropriations.
131 Council Regulation (EU) No 560/2014 of 6 May 2014 establishing the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking.
132 A Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/887 of 13 March 2019 on the model financial regulation for public-private partnership
bodies referred to in Article 71 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council, OJEU L 142, 29.5.2019.
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A certain number of the cost claims were either lower than expected or delayed, resulting in an
underexecution of the 2019 budget on the payment appropriations side, but nevertheless an improvement
compared to 2018.
With respect to the in-kind contribution from the JU Members other than the EU, and following a transfer of over EUR 12 million to net assets in 2018, another substantial amount (around EUR 4.7 million) has been transferred to net assets in 2019.
As for the administrative expenditure, the consumption of both commitment and payment appropriations
is high, while BBI JU ensures an optimal use of appropriations carried forward from previous years, in accordance with the BBI JU financial rules. There was a highly successful Stakeholder Forum in December 2019 (which usually takes place every two years) meaning that the communication costs were higher than for 2018 (kEUR 733 compared to kEUR 218).
The major impacts in the 2019 financial statements for BBI JU are the following:
Balance Sheet
Pre-financing: The amounts of pre-financing paid to the beneficiaries for project implementation increased
in 2019 to a total of EUR 187 million (2018: EUR 140 million).
Exchange receivables: The balance of the liaison/intercompany account related to funds which are to be used for future activities increased by 2019 year-end from EUR 37 million to EUR 53 million due to the impact of large projects for which the cost claims were delayed (because of suspensions or technical issues) or were much lower than forecast. The balance will be redressed in the coming years, as larger cost claims arrive. The prefinancing rate for the projects of call 2018 was also maintained at a high level (80%).
Payables and Other liabilities: The significant increase of liabilities related to the in kind contributions
to be validated is due to new projects launched or ongoing in the course of 2019 for which no IKOP declarations were validated at the year-end and the 2019 amounts had thus to be estimated during the closure (cut-off) exercise. The increase in payables to Vendors and to Public bodies relates to cost claims received but not yet validated at the year-end. The underlying cut-off expenses have been recorded under operational expenses.
Statement of Financial Performance
Operational costs: The increase of the operational costs is due to the higher number of cost claims validated for the BBI projects in 2019.
Other expenses: The increase in expenses related to experts’ fees is due to the amount of proposals received for the 2019 call. Experts’ expenses mainly consist of the costs of the expert-evaluators used by the Research Executive Agency (REA) for the BBI call evaluations and some external project reviewers paid by BBI JU. As mentioned above, communication costs were higher due to the organising of the Stakeholder Forum in December 2019.
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BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES JOINT UNDERTAKING
FINANCIAL YEAR 2019
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND
EXPLANATORY NOTES
It should be noted that due to the rounding of figures into thousands of euros (kEUR), some financial data in the tables below may appear not to add-up.
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CONTENTS
BALANCE SHEET ....................................................................................................................... 283
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE .............................................................................. 284
CASHFLOW STATEMENT ........................................................................................................... 285
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS .................................................................................. 286
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ................................................................................... 287
1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES ............................................................................................................ 288
2. NOTES TO THE BALANCE SHEET ..................................................................................................................... 295
3. NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE .......................................................................... 299
4. OTHER SIGNIFICANT DISCLOSURES ............................................................................................................... 301
5. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................... 302
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BALANCE SHEET
EUR '000
Note 31.12.2019 31.12.2018
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Property, plant and equipment 2.1 49 40
Pre-financing 2.2 116 919 107 972
116 968 108 012
CURRENT ASSETS
Pre-financing 2.2 69 961 31 714
Exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables 2.3 53 031 38 386
122 992 70 100
TOTAL ASSETS 239 960 178 112
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Payables and other liabilities 2.4 (72 121) (47 803)
Accrued charges and deferred income 2.5 (95 078) (91 334)
(167 199) (139 138)
TOTAL LIABILITIES (167 199) (139 138)
NET ASSETS 72 762 38 974
Contribution from Members 2.6 444 489 285 770
Accumulated deficit (246 795) (126 103)
Economic result of the year (124 932) (120 692)
NET ASSETS 72 762 38 974
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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
EUR '000
Note 2019 2018
REVENUE
Revenue from non-exchange transactions
Recovery of expenses 3 1
3 1
Revenue from exchange transactions
Financial revenue – 8
Other 1 6
1 14
Total revenue 4 15
EXPENSES
Operational costs 3.1 (119 511) (116 544)
Staff costs 3.2 (2 222) (2 043)
Finance costs 3.3 90 (91)
Other expenses 3.4 (3 293) (2 029)
Total expenses (124 936) (120 707)
ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE YEAR (124 932) (120 692)
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285
CASHFLOW STATEMENT133
EUR '000
2019 2018
Economic result of the year (124 932) (120 692)
Operating activities
Depreciation and amortization 14 15
(Increase)/decrease in pre-financing (47 195) (6 777) (Increase)/decrease in exchange receivables and non-exchange recoverables (14 644) (34 306)
Increase/(decrease) in payables 24 318 12 381
Increase/(decrease) in accrued charges & deferred income 3 743 20 880
Increase/(decrease) in cash contributions 154 046 116 404
Increase/(decrease) in in-kind contributions 4 674 12 103
Investing activities
(Increase)/decrease in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment (24) (8)
NET CASHFLOW – –
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents – –
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year – –
Cash and cash equivalents at year-end – –
133 Following the appointment of the Accounting Officer of the Commission as the Accounting Officer of BBI JU, the treasury of BBI JU
was integrated into the Commission's treasury system. Therefore, BBI JU does not have any bank accounts of its own. All payments and
receipts are processed via the Commission's treasury system and registered on intercompany accounts which are presented under the heading exchange receivables.
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STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
EUR '000
Contribution
from Members
Accumulated
Surplus/
(Deficit)
Economic
result of the
year
Net Assets
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2017 157 264 (39 534) (86 569) 31 160
Allocation 2017 economic result – (86 569) 86 569 –
Cash contribution 116 404 – – 116 404
Contribution in-kind 12 103 – – 12 103
Economic result of the year – – (120 692) (120 692)
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2018 285 770 (126 103) (120 692) 38 974
Allocation 2018 economic result – (120 692) 120 692 –
Cash contribution 154 046 – – 154 046
Contribution in-kind 4 674 – – 4 674
Economic result of the year – – (124 932) (124 932)
BALANCE AS AT 31.12.2019 444 489 (246 795) (124 932) 72 762
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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
1.1. ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
The objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance and cashflows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users.
The overall considerations (or accounting principles) to be followed when preparing the financial statements are laid down in EU Accounting Rule 1 ‘Financial Statements’ and are the same as those described in IPSAS 1: fair presentation, accrual basis, going concern, consistency of presentation, materiality, aggregation, offsetting and comparative information. The qualitative characteristics of financial reporting are relevance, faithful representation (reliability), understandability, timeliness, comparability and verifiability.
1.2. BASIS OF PREPARATION
1.2.1. Reporting period
Financial statements are presented annually. The accounting year begins on 1 January and ends on
31 December.
1.2.2. Currency and basis for conversion
The annual accounts are presented in thousands of euros, the euro being the EU’s functional currency. Foreign currency transactions are translated into euros using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of foreign currency transactions and from the re-translation at year-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities
denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the statement of financial performance. Different conversion methods apply to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, which retain their value
in euros at the date when they were purchased.
Year-end balances of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into euros on the basis of the European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rates applying on 31 December.
Euro exchange rates
Currency 31.12.2019 31.12.2018 Currency 31.12.2019 31.12.2018
BGN 1.9558 1.9558 PLN 4.2568 4.3014
CZK 25.4080 25.7240 RON 4.783 4.6635
DKK 7.4715 7.4673 SEK 10.4468 10.2548
GBP 0.8508 0.8945 CHF 1.0854 1.1269
HRK 7.4395 7.4125 JPY 121.9400 125.8500
HUF 330.5300 320.9800 USD 1.1234 1.145
1.2.3. Use of estimates
In accordance with IPSAS and generally accepted accounting principles, the financial statements necessarily include amounts based on estimates and assumptions by management based on the most reliable information available. Significant estimates include, but are not limited to: amounts for employee benefit liabilities, accrued and deferred revenue and charges, provisions, financial risk on accounts receivable,
contingent assets and liabilities, and degree of impairment of assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Reasonable estimates are an essential part of the preparation of financial statements and do not undermine their reliability. An estimate may need revision if changes occur in the circumstances on which the estimate was based or as a result of new information or more experience. By its nature, the revision of an estimate
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does not relate to prior periods and is not the correction of an error. The effect of a change in accounting
estimate shall be recognised in the surplus or deficit in the periods in which it becomes known.
1.3. BALANCE SHEET
1.3.1. Intangible assets
An intangible asset is an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance. An asset is identifiable if it is either separable (i.e. it is capable of being separated or divided from the entity, e.g. by being sold, transferred, licensed, rented, or exchanged, either individually or together with a related contract, identifiable asset or liability, regardless of whether the entity intends to do so), or arises from binding arrangements (including rights from contracts or other legal rights), regardless of whether those rights are
transferable or separable from the entity or from other rights and obligations).
Acquired intangible assets are stated at historical cost less accumulated amortisation and impairment losses. Internally developed intangible assets are capitalised when the relevant criteria of the EU accounting
rules are met and the expenses relate solely to the development phase of the asset. The capitalisable costs include all directly attributable costs necessary to create, produce, and prepare the asset to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. Costs associated with research activities, non-
capitalisable development costs and maintenance costs are recognised as expenses as incurred.
Intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives (3 to 11 years). The estimated useful lives of intangible assets depend on their specific economic lifetime or legal lifetime determined by an agreement.
1.3.2. Property, plant and equipment
All property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and
impairment losses. Cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or transfer of the asset. Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a
separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits or service potential associated with the item will flow to the entity and its cost can be measured reliably. Repairs and maintenance costs are charged to the statement of financial performance during the financial period in which they are incurred. Land is not depreciated, as it is deemed to have an indefinite useful life. Assets under construction are not depreciated as these assets are not yet available for use. Depreciation on other
assets is calculated using the straight-line method to allocate their cost less their residual values over their estimated useful lives, as follows:
Type of asset Straight line depreciation rate
Buildings 4 % to 10 %
Plant and equipment 10 % to 25 %
Furniture and vehicles 10 % to 25 %
Computer hardware 25 % to 33 %
Other 10 % to 33 %
Gains or losses on disposals are determined by comparing proceeds less selling expenses with the carrying
amount of the disposed asset and are included in the statement of financial performance.
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Leases
A lease is an agreement whereby the lessor conveys to the lessee in return for a payment or series of payments the right to use an asset for an agreed period of time. Leases are classified as either finance leases or operating leases.
Finance leases are leases where substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership are transferred to the lessee. When entering a finance lease as a lessee, the assets acquired under the finance lease are recognised as assets and the associated lease obligations as liabilities as from the commencement
of the lease term. The assets and liabilities are recognised at amounts equal to the fair value of the leased property or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments, each determined at the inception of the lease. Over the period of the lease term, the assets held under finance leases are depreciated over the shorter of the asset’s useful life and the lease term. The minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge (the interest element) and the reduction of the outstanding liability (the capital element). The finance charge is allocated to each period during the lease term so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability, which is presented as current/non-current,
as applicable. Contingent rents shall be charged as expenses in the period in which they are incurred.
An operating lease is a lease other than a finance lease, i.e. a lease where the lessor retains substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an asset. When entering an operating lease as a lessee, the operating lease payments are recognised as an expense in the statement of financial performance on a straight-line basis over the lease term with neither a leased asset nor a leasing liability presented in the statement of financial position.
1.3.3. Impairment of non-financial assets
Assets that have an indefinite useful life are not subject to amortisation/depreciation and are tested annually for impairment. Assets that are subject to amortisation/depreciation are tested for impairment whenever there is an indication at the reporting date that an asset may be impaired. An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable (service) amount. The recoverable (service) amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and its
value in use.
Intangible assets and property, plant and equipment residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at least once per year. If the reasons for impairments recognised in previous years no longer apply, the impairment losses are reversed accordingly.
1.3.4. Financial assets
Financial assets are classified in the following categories: ‘financial assets at fair value through surplus or
deficit’, ‘loans and receivables’, ‘held-to-maturity investments’ and ‘available for sale financial assets’. The classification of the financial instruments is determined at initial recognition and re-evaluated at each balance sheet date.
(i) Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit
A financial asset is classified in this category if acquired principally for the purpose of selling in the short term or if so designated by the entity. Derivatives are also presented in this category. Assets in this category
are classified as current assets if they are expected to be realised within 12 months of the balance sheet
date. During this financial year, the entity did not hold any investments in this category.
(ii) Loans and receivables
Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. They arise when the entity provides money, goods or services directly to a debtor with no intention of trading the receivable. They are included in non-current assets, except for maturities within 12 months of the balance sheet date. Loans and receivables include term deposits with
the original maturity above three months.
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(iii) Held-to-maturity investments
Held-to-maturity investments are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments and fixed maturities that the entity has the positive intention and ability to hold to maturity. During this financial year, the entity did not hold any investments in this category.
(iv) Available for sale financial assets
Available for sale financial assets are non-derivatives that are either designated in this category or not classified in any of the other categories. They are classified as either current or non-current assets,
depending on the period of time the entity expects to hold them, which is usually the maturity date. During this financial year, the entity did not hold any investments in this category.
Initial recognition and measurement
Purchases and sales of financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit, held-to-maturity and available for sale are recognised on their trade date, i.e. the date on which the entity commits to purchase or sell the asset. Cash equivalents and loans are recognised when cash is deposited in a financial institution
or advanced to borrowers. Financial instruments are initially recognised at fair value. For all financial assets
not carried at fair value through surplus or deficit, transaction costs are added to the fair value at initial recognition.
Financial instruments are derecognised when the rights to receive cashflows from the investments have expired or the entity has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership to another party.
Subsequent measurement
Financial assets at fair value through surplus or deficit are subsequently carried at fair value, with gains and losses arising from changes in the fair value being included in the statement of financial performance
in the period in which they arise.
Loans and receivables and held-to maturity investments are carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Available for sale financial assets are subsequently carried at fair value. Gains and losses arising from changes in the fair value are recognised in the fair value reserve. Interest on available for sale financial assets, calculated using the effective interest method, is recognised in the statement of financial
performance.
The entity assesses at each balance sheet date whether there is objective evidence that a financial asset is impaired and whether an impairment loss should be recorded in the statement of financial performance.
1.3.5. Pre-financing amounts
Pre-financing is a payment intended to provide the beneficiary with a cash advance, i.e. a float. It may be split into a number of payments over a period defined in the particular contract, decision, agreement or
basic legal act. The float or advance is either used for the purpose for which it was provided during the period defined in the agreement or it is repaid. If the beneficiary does not incur eligible expenditure, he
has the obligation to return the pre-financing advance to the entity. Thus, as the entity retains control over the pre-financing and is entitled to a refund for the ineligible part, the amount is presented as an asset.
Pre-financing is initially recognised on the balance sheet when cash is transferred to the recipient. It is measured at the amount of the consideration given. In subsequent periods pre-financing is measured at the amount initially recognised on the balance sheet less eligible expenses (including estimated amounts
where necessary) incurred during the period.
1.3.6. Receivables and recoverables
The EU accounting rules require a separate presentation of exchange and non-exchange transactions. To distinguish between the two categories, the term ‘receivable’ is reserved for exchange transactions, whereas for non-exchange transactions, i.e. when the EU receives value from another entity without directly
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giving approximately equal value in exchange, the term ‘recoverables’ is used (e.g. recoverables from
Member States related to own resources).
Receivables from exchange transactions meet the definition of financial instruments and are thus classified as loans and receivables and measured accordingly (see 1.3.4 above).
Recoverables from non-exchange transactions are carried at original amount (adjusted for interests and penalties) less write-down for impairment. A write-down for impairment is established when there is objective evidence that the entity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms
of the recoverables. The amount of the write-down is the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the recoverable amount. The amount of the write-down is recognised in the statement of financial performance.
1.3.7. Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents are financial instruments and include cash at hand, deposits held at call or at short notice with banks, and other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three
months or less.
1.3.8. Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the entity has a present legal or constructive obligation towards third parties as a result of past events, it is more likely than not that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount can be reliably estimated. Provisions are not recognised for future operating losses. The amount of the provision is the best estimate of the expenditure expected to be
required to settle the present obligation at the reporting date. Where the provision involves a large number of items, the obligation is estimated by weighting all possible outcomes by their associated probabilities (‘expected value’ method).
Provisions for onerous contracts are measured at the present value of the lower of the expected cost of terminating the contract and the expected net cost of continuing with the contract.
1.3.9. Payables
Included under accounts payable are both amounts related to exchange transactions such as the purchase of goods and services and to non-exchange transactions e.g. to cost claims from beneficiaries, grants or other EU funding, or pre-financing received (see note 1.4.1).
Where grants or other funding are provided to the beneficiaries, the cost claims are recorded as payables for the requested amount when the cost claim is received. Upon verification and acceptance of the eligible costs, the payables are valued at the accepted and eligible amount.
Payables arising from the purchase of goods and services are recognised at invoice reception for the original amount and corresponding expenses are entered in the accounts when the supplies or services are delivered and accepted by the entity.
1.3.10. Accrued and deferred revenue and charges
Transactions and events are recognised in the financial statements in the period to which they relate. At year-end, if an invoice is not yet issued but the service has been rendered, the supplies have been delivered
by the entity or a contractual agreement exists (e.g. by reference to a contract), an accrued revenue will be recognised in the financial statements. In addition, at year-end, if an invoice is issued but the services have not yet been rendered or the goods supplied have not yet been delivered, the revenue will be deferred and recognised in the subsequent accounting period.
Expenses are also accounted for in the period to which they relate. At the end of the accounting period, accrued expenses are recognised based on an estimated amount of the transfer obligation of the period. The calculation of accrued expenses is done in accordance with detailed operational and practical guidelines
issued by the Accounting Officer which aim at ensuring that the financial statements provide a faithful representation of the economic and other phenomena they purport to represent. By analogy, if a payment
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has been made in advance for services or goods that have not yet been received, the expense will be
deferred and recognised in the subsequent accounting period.
1.4. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
1.4.1. Revenue
Revenue comprises gross inflows of economic benefits or service potential received and receivable by the entity, which represents an increase in net assets, other than increases relating to contributions from owners.
Depending on the nature of the underlying transactions in the statement of financial performance it is distinguished between:
(i) Revenue from non-exchange transactions
Revenue from non-exchange transactions are taxes and transfers because the transferor provides resources to the recipient entity without the recipient entity providing approximately equal value directly in exchange.
Transfers are inflows of future economic benefits or service potential from non-exchange transactions, other than taxes. The entity shall recognise an asset in respect of transfers when the entity controls the
resources as a result of a past event (the transfer) and expects to receive future economic benefits or service potential from those resources, and when the fair value can be reliably measured. An inflow of resources from a non-exchange transaction recognised as an asset (i.e. cash) is also recognised as revenue, except to the extent that the entity has a present obligation in respect of that transfer (condition), which needs to be satisfied before the revenue can be recognised. Until the condition is met the revenue is deferred and recognised as a liability (pre-financing received).
(ii) Revenue from exchange transactions
Revenue from the sale of goods and services is recognised when the significant risk and rewards of
ownership of the goods are transferred to the purchaser. Revenue associated with a transaction involving the provision of services is recognised by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the reporting date.
1.4.2. Expenses
Expenses are decreases in economic benefits or service potential during the reporting period in the form of
outflows or consumption of assets or incurrence of liabilities that result in decreases in net assets/equity. They include both the expenses from exchange transactions and expenses from non-exchange transactions.
Expenses from exchange transactions arising from the purchase of goods and services are recognised when the supplies are delivered and accepted by the entity. They are valued at the original invoice amount. Furthermore, at the balance sheet date expenses related to the service delivered during the period for which an invoice has not yet been received or accepted are recognised in the statement of financial performance.
Expenses from non-exchange transactions relate to transfers to beneficiaries and can be of three types: entitlements, transfers under agreement and discretionary grants, contributions and donations. Transfers are recognised as expenses in the period during which the events giving rise to the transfer occurred, as long as the nature of the transfer is allowed by regulation or an agreement has been signed authorising the transfer; any eligibility criteria have been met by the beneficiary; and a reasonable estimate of the amount can be made.
When a request for payment or cost claim is received and meets the recognition criteria, it is recognised as an expense for the eligible amount. At year-end, incurred eligible expenses due to the beneficiaries but not yet reported are estimated and recorded as accrued expense.
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1.5. CONTINGENT ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
1.5.1. Contingent assets
A contingent asset is a possible asset that arises from past events and of which the existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity. A contingent asset is disclosed when an inflow of economic benefits or service potential is probable.
1.5.2. Contingent liabilities
A contingent liability is a possible obligation that arises from past events and of which the existence will be
confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity; or a present obligation that arises from past events but is not recognised because it is not probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits or service potential
will be required to settle the obligation or, in the rare circumstances where the amount of the obligation cannot be measured with sufficient reliability. A contingent liability is disclosed unless the possibility of an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits or service potential is remote.
1.6. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS
The contributions from the Members of the Joint Undertakings (JU) form the funding of the JU and are treated as contributions from owners. An owner in this context does not mean an owner in the sense of
owning shares (no shares are issued) of the JU but rather in the sense of political interest and governance of the JU by exercising the voting rights linked to these contributions.
1.6.1. Financial contributions
Financial contributions are contributions of Members made in cash in order to provide funding of the operational or administrative needs of the JU. The financial contributions are recognised in the net assets in the period in which the right to receive the payment was established.
1.6.2. In-kind contributions
Members other than the EU (i.e. 'Private Members') can also contribute resources other than cash, e.g. laboratory equipment, specialised staff, etc. These in-kind contributions consist of the costs incurred by Private Members in implementing indirect actions.
The Regulation distinguishes between two types of in-kind contributions: (1) In-kind contributions to operational activities (IKOP) and (2) in-kind contributions to additional activities (IKAA).
The IKOP represents in-kind contributions made to the JU linked to its work plan and co-financed by the EU. The IKOP are recognised in the net assets of the JU in the period when the conditions for Members'
contributions stipulated by the Regulation were met.
The expenses related to the IKOP incurred in the financial year are recognised in the statement of financial performance. At year-end, incurred IKOP not yet reported are estimated and recorded as other liabilities ('Contributions of Members to be validated').
The IKAA relate to contributions linked to implementing additional activities outside the work plan of the JU that contribute to the objectives of the JU. Because the outflow of resources related to those activities is outside of the control of the JU, these contributions are not recognised in the financial statements of the JU.
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2. NOTES TO THE BALANCE SHEET
ASSETS
2.1. PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
EUR '000
Furniture and
vehicles
Computer
hardware Other TOTAL
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2018 33 42 7 82
Additions 1 15 8 24
Gross carrying amount at 31.12.2019 34 56 15 105
Accumulated depreciation at 31.12.2018 (9) (28) (4) (41)
Depreciation charge for the year (4) (9) (2) (14)
Accumulated depreciation at 31.12.2019 (13) (37) (7) (56)
NET CARRYING AMOUNT AT 31.12.2019 22 19 8 49
NET CARRYING AMOUNT AT 31.12.2018 24 13 2 40
2.2. PRE-FINANCING
EUR '000
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Non-current pre-financing 116 919 107 972
Current pre-financing 69 961 31 714
Total 186 881 139 686
For all pre-financing amounts open at 31 December 2019 a case-by-case assessment has been performed and all pre-financing that was considered unlikely to be cleared in the course of 2020 was classified as non
current pre-financing.
The overall high amount of the open pre-financing can be explained by the fact that according to the Horizon 2020 rules the incurred costs (both actual and estimated) are cleared against pre-financing when the amounts paid to the beneficiary reach 90% of the grant agreement amount. In addition, only the amount exceeding this threshold is cleared. Consequently, in the first years of the project life there is significant open pre-financing that will only be cleared in later years. The outstanding pre-financing, presented under this heading, is net of estimated (cut-off) expenses for on going projects without validated
cost claims on 31 December 2019. The remaining portion of the cut-off expenses is recorded in accrued charges (see note 2.5).
In 2019, a total pre-financing amount of kEUR 82 305 was paid.
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2.3. EXCHANGE RECEIVABLES & NON-EXCHANGE
RECOVERABLES
The amounts included under this heading are fully composed of current receivables from exchange transactions and can be split as follows:
EUR '000
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Central treasury liaison accounts 52 880 37 002
Customers 140 1 364
Other 10 21
Total 53 031 38 386
The central treasury liaison accounts with the Commission represent virtual bank accounts of BBI JU. Following the appointment of the Accounting Officer of the Commission as the Accounting Officer of BBI
JU, the treasury of BBI JU was integrated into the Commission's treasury system. Because of this BBI JU does not have any bank accounts. All payments and receipts are processed via the Commission's treasury and registered on these intercompany accounts. The ending balance of this heading is thus the result of
the incoming and outgoing payments and represents the funds available for the Joint Undertaking.
The heading ‘Customers’ up to 2018 was largely composed of receivables related to the Research Executive Agency (REA) for costs incurred in 2017 and 2018 for expert evaluations related to the BBI JU’s calls for proposals and of the contribution of the industry Member (BIC) to the administrative and operational costs of BBI JU. In 2019 the amount was adjusted and represents only the open RAL on REA commitments for the BBI evaluations.
The increase is in line with the increase of activities of BBI JU and thus bigger needs for the experts’ evaluations (see also note 3.4).
LIABILITIES
2.4. PAYABLES AND OTHER LIABILITIES
EUR '000
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Contribution in kind to be validated 51 999 36 841
Public Bodies 12 377 5 214
Vendors 7 745 5 249
Other – 500
Total 72 121 47 803
Included under the heading Contributions in-kind to be validated are the in-kind contributions from
Members relating to projects for which the amount of the in-kind contribution generated by individual
beneficiaries was estimated on a case-by-case basis using the best available information on the projects at 31 December 2019. The estimated cash contribution to the operational cost of those projects is included under accrued charges (see note 2.5). The significant increase relates to new projects launched or ongoing in the course of 2019 for which the IKOP declarations were not certified by an auditor and validated by the BBI Executive Director and the amounts related to 2019 had thus to be estimated during the closure (cut-off) exercise.
The increase in payables to Vendors and to Public bodies relates to cost claims received but not yet validated at the year end. The underlying cut-off expenses have been recorded under operational expenses.
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2.5. ACCRUED CHARGES
EUR '000
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Accrued charges 95 078 91 334
Accrued charges are the amounts estimated by the Authorising Officer of costs incurred for services and goods delivered in year 2019 but not yet invoiced or processed by the end of the year. They are largely composed of estimated operational costs of kEUR 94 396 for on-going projects without a validated cost statement where the 2019 expense was estimated on a case-by-case basis using the best available
information about the projects at 31 December 2019. The portion of the estimated accrued charges which relates to pre-financing paid has been recorded as a reduction of the pre-financing amounts in line with the H2020 rules (see note 2.2).
Also included under this heading are accrued administrative expenses of kEUR 641 relating mainly to other external services (kEUR 192), communication and publication costs (kEUR 163), IT costs covering the
operational phase of IT projects (kEUR 112) and training costs (kEUR 45). The accrued staff expenses for
untaken leave is kEUR 40.
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NET ASSETS
2.6. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS
EUR '000
Programme 2019 2018
Cash In kind Total Cash In kind Total
H2020 427 713 16 776 444 489 273 667 12 103 285 770
With regard to the Horizon 2020 programme, Council Regulation (EC) No 560/2014 distinguishes between Members (European Commission, Industry Grouping) and non-members of the JU. In addition, only the in-kind contributions from the Members that are both certified by external auditors and validated by the Executive Director of BBI JU are considered in-kind contribution. Estimated in-kind contributions, i.e. contributions for which no certifications has been received and/or this certification has not been validated by the Executive Director are reported under other liabilities (see note 2.4).
EUR '000
Member EU Industry Grouping Total
Cash Cash In kind Total Cash In kind
Running costs contributions at 31.12.2018 7 815 8 311 – 8 311 16 126 –
Current year contributions 1 513 1 513 – 1 513 3 026 –
Running costs contributions at 31.12.2019 9 328 9 824 – 9 824 19 152 –
Operating costs contributions at 31.12.2018 256 791 750 12 103 12 853 257 541 12 103
Current year contributions 148 520 2 500 4 674 7 174 151 020 4 674
Operating costs contributions at 31.12.2019 405 311 3 250 16 776 20 026 408 561 16 776
TOTAL contributions at 31.12.2018 264 606 9 061 12 103 21 164 273 667 12 103
TOTAL contributions at 31.12.2019 414 638 13 074 16 776 29 850 427 713 16 776
% of total contributions (by type) 96.94% 3.06% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Total contribution in % 93.28% 6.72% 100.00%
Voting rights % 50.00% 50.00% 100.00%
The increase in the cash contributions from owners is explained by the total operational and administrative contributions from the EC and the Members other than the EU for 2019 (kEUR 151 020 in operational contributions and kEUR 3 026 in administrative contributions).
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3. NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE
EXPENSES
3.1. OPERATIONAL COSTS
Included under this heading are operational costs related to projects that were carried out in 2019. A part of the operational costs, related to on-going or ended projects without any validated cost claims (or equivalent) available at 31 December, was estimated using the best information available at the time of
the preparation of the annual accounts. The estimation is based on the case-by-case assessment of completion which ensures that only costs that reflect the services or work performed by 31 December are included in the operational costs of the year. Depending on the availability of information at the time of the preparation of the annual acounts, the estimates are based on reports of services or work performed (e.g.
Report of the Member of the Joint Undertaking other than the EU on the in-kind contributions as per the meaning of Article 4(3) and 4(4) of Regulation (EU) No 2014/557) or costs incurred to date as a proportion
of the estimated total costs of the projects ('pro-rata temporis').
The break-down of the operational costs between operational costs incurred on the basis of validated cost claims (or equivalent) and estimated operational costs, is given in the table below.
EUR '000
2019 2018
Operational costs: validated in-kind contributions 4 674 12 103
Operational costs: estimated in-kind contributions 15 157 10 882
Total operational costs from in-kind contributions 19 830 22 985
Operational costs: validated EU contributions 69 649 58 376
Operational costs: estimated EU contributions 30 032 35 183
Total operational costs: from EU contributions 99 680 93 559
Total 119 511 116 544
3.2. STAFF COSTS
EUR '000
2019 2018
Staff costs 2 222 2 043
Included under this heading are salary expenses and other employment-related allowances and benefits. Calculations related to staff costs are, based on the service level agreement, entrusted to the European
Commission’s Office for administration and payment of individual entitlements (also known as the Paymaster's Office-PMO).
The pensions of the BBI JU staff members are covered by the Pension Scheme of European Officials. This
pension scheme is a defined benefit plan, i.e. the amount of benefit an employee will receive on retirement, depends on factors such as age and years of service. Both the BBI JU staff and the Commission contribute to the pension scheme and the contribution percentage is revised yearly to reflect the changes in the Staff Regulation. The cost to the Commission is not reflected in the BBI JU accounts. Similarly, the future
benefits, payable to the BBI JU staff, are accounted for in the liabilities of the Commission, as it is the Commission who will pay out these benefits. No provisions related to the future pensions are made in these accounts.
3.3. FINANCE COSTS
Included under this heading is the reversal of a 2018 posting related to expenses concerning the write down of the pre-financing of one of the beneficiaries. The pre-financing amounts related to beneficiaries declared in bankruptcy are covered by the Participants Guarantee Fund.
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3.4. OTHER EXPENSES
EUR '000
2019 2018
Experts' fees 1 222 907
Communications and publications 752 155
External non IT services 492 324
External IT services 307 159
Operating lease expenses 297 283
Training costs 91 32
Missions 68 70
Office supplies and maintenance 41 19
Property, plant and equipment related expenses 18 34
Other 6 45
Total 3 293 2 029
The increase in expenses related to experts’ fees is due to the amount of proposals received for the 2019 call. These expenses consist mainly of the costs of the experts used by REA for the evaluation of BBI calls. The consumption reported by REA for 2019 was around kEUR 955 (2018: kEUR 700). The heading also includes the costs of external project reviewers paid by BBI.
In 2019 communication and publication costs were higher than 2018 because of:
The impact of the 2019 SH Forum Event (it occurs once every two years) which cost a total of over kEUR 400.
Reversals of large accruals for the 2017 Stakeholder Forum Event (SH Forum). The travel costs due to Amex were much lower than quoted.
External non-IT service provider costs increased in 2019 because of a higher number of interim staff needed by BBI JU in order to manage the workload. The underlying accruals increased with kEUR 105 and thus
almost doubled compared to 2018 (see note 2.5).
The increase in External IT services is due to new IT tools introduced in 2019 (ARES, MIPS, NEO, e-invoicing) as well as a new audio-visual and conferencing platform for the meeting rooms.
Operating lease expenses were slightly higher in 2019 due to rental indexation, a regularisation of the 2018 service charges and extra costs relating to the construction of a kiosk in the reception of the White Atrium.
Operating lease expenses concern the BBI JU office in the 'White Atrium' building. Amounts committed to be paid during the remaining term of this lease contract include rent and related charges and are as follows:
EUR '000
Future amounts to be paid
< 1 year 1- 5 years > 5 years Total
Buildings 302 1 270 – 1 572
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4. OTHER SIGNIFICANT DISCLOSURES
4.1. OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS NOT YET EXPENSED
EUR '000
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Outstanding commitments not yet expensed 223 817 269 907
The amount of outstanding commitments not yet expensed comprises the budgetary RAL ('Reste à Liquider') less related amounts that have been included as expenses in the 2019 statement of financial performance. The budgetary RAL is an amount representing the open commitments for which payments
and/or de-commitments have not yet been made. This is the normal consequence of the existence of multi-annual programmes.
4.2. RELATED PARTIES
The related parties of the BBI JU are the members, other EU entities and BBI JU key management personnel. Transactions between these parties take place as part of the normal BBI JU operations and as this is the case, no specific disclosure requirements are necessary for these transactions in accordance with the EU accounting rules.
4.3. KEY MANAGEMENT ENTITLMENTS
The highest ranking civil servant of BBI JU is the Executive Director, who executes the role of Authorising Officer.
31.12.2019 31.12.2018
Executive Director AD 14 AD 14
The Executive Director is remunerated in accordance with the Staff Regulations of the European Union that is published on the Europa website and is the official document describing the rights and the obligations of all officials of the EU.
4.4. EVENTS AFTER REPORTING DATE
During the first half of 2020, the coronavirus outbreak has had huge impacts on the EU economy. As a non-adjusting event, the outbreak of the coronavirus does not require any adjustments to the figures reported in these annual accounts. For subsequent reporting periods, COVID-19 may affect the recognition and measurement of some assets and liabilities on the balance sheet and also of some revenue and
expenses recognised in the statement of financial performance. Based on the information available at the date of signature of these annual accounts, the financial effects of the coronavirus outbreak cannot be reliably estimated.
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5. FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT
5.1. TYPES OF RISK
Market risk is the risk that the fair value or future cashflows of a financial instrument will fluctuate, because of variations in market prices. Market risk embodies not only the potential for loss, but also the
potential for gain. It comprises currency risk, interest rate risk and other price risk (the BBI JU has no significant other price risk).
(1) Currency risk is the risk that the BBI JU operations or its investments' value will be affected by changes in exchange rates. This risk arises from the change in price of one currency against another.
(2) Interest rate risk is the possibility of a reduction in the value of a security, especially a bond, resulting from an increase in interest rates. In general, higher interest rates will lead to lower prices of
fixed rate bonds, and vice versa. BBI JU does not have any securities thus it is not exposed to the interest rate risk.
Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtor's/borrower's non-payment of a loan or other line of credit (either the principal or interest or both) or other failure to meet a contractual obligation. The default events include a delay in repayments, restructuring of borrower repayments and bankruptcy.
Liquidity risk is the risk that arises from the difficulty in selling an asset; for example, the risk that a given security or asset cannot be traded quickly enough in the market to prevent a loss or meet an
obligation.
5.2. CURRENCY RISKS
Exposure to currency risk at year-end
At 31 December 2019 the financial assets are entirely composed of exchange receivables. The financial liabilities are entirely composed of accounts payable. The ending balances of both financial liabilities and financial assets are quoted in EUR. At the year end BBI thus does not have any exposure to currency risks.
5.3. CREDIT RISK
Financial assets that are neither past due nor impaired
The financial assets that are neither past due nor impaired entirely compose of receivables and recoverables that amounted to kEUR 53 031 at 31 December 2019.
Financial assets by risk category
The exchange receivables relate with kEUR 52 880 to entities with prime grade and with kEUR 150 to counterparties without external credit rating that have never defaulted in the past.
5.4. LIQUIDITY RISK
Maturity analysis of financial liabilities by remaining contractual maturity
Financial liabilities entirely consist of accounts payable. All the accounts payable have a remaining contractual maturity of less than 1 year.
At 31 December 2019, the financial liabilities amounted to kEUR 167 199. They are mainly composed of current payables (kEUR 20 122), in-kind contributions to be validated (kEUR 51 999) and accrued charges (kEUR 95 078). All the financial liabilities have an expected remaining maturity of less than one year.
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BIO-BASED INDUSTRIES JOINT UNDERTAKING
FINANCIAL YEAR 2019
THE BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS
AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
It should be noted that due to the rounding of figures into thousands of euros (kEUR), some financial data in the tables below may appear not to add-up.
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CONTENTS
1. BUDGETARY PRINCIPLES, STRUCTURE AND HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION
305
2. RESULT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BUDGET........................................................... 308
3. RECONCILIATION OF ECONOMIC RESULT WITH BUDGET RESULT ........................................ 309
4. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET REVENUE .......................................................................... 310
5. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET EXPENDITURE ................................................................... 311
6. OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS ........................................................................................ 326
7. GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................ 329
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1. BUDGETARY PRINCIPLES, STRUCTURE AND
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUDGETARY
IMPLEMENTATION
1.1. BUDGETARY PRINCIPLES
The establishment and implementation of the budget of BBI JU is governed by the following basic principles
set out in the Chapter 2 of the Financial Rules of BBI JU:
Principles of unity and budget accuracy
This principle means that no revenue shall be collected and no expenditure effected unless booked to a line in the budget of BBI JU. No expenditure may be committed or authorised in excess of the appropriations authorised by the budget. An appropriation may be entered in the budget only if it is for an item of
expenditure considered necessary.
Principle of annuality
The appropriations entered in the budget shall be authorised for a financial year which shall run from 1 January to 31 December. As specified in its Financial Rules, BBI JU is subject to an exception to the annuality principle, specific only to the joint undertakings (the “N+3” rule), whereby any unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years. These appropriations must be used first.
Principle of equilibrium
Revenue and payment appropriations shall be in balance.
Principle of unit of account
The budget shall be drawn up and implemented in euro and the accounts shall be presented in euro.
Principle of universality
Total revenue shall cover total payment appropriations and all revenue and expenditure shall be entered in full without any adjustment against each other.
Principle of specification
Appropriations shall be earmarked for specific purposes at least by title and chapter.
Principle of sound financial management
Appropriations shall be used in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, namely in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Principle of transparency
The budget shall be established and implemented and the accounts presented in accordance with the principle of transparency. The budget and any amending budgets shall be published on the internet site of
the BBI JU within four weeks of their adoption and shall be transmitted to the Commission and the Court of Auditors.
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1.2. STRUCTURE AND PRESENTATION OF THE BUDGET
Since 01 January 2015, no distinction is made between non-dissociated and dissociated appropriations. All appropriations follow the dissociated logic.
Following the provisions of the Financial rules of BBI JU, the budget accounts shall consist of a statement of revenue and a statement of expenditure. The budget is distributed in the following titles:
Title 1 budget lines relate to staff expenditure such as salaries and allowances for personnel working with BBI JU. It also includes recruitment expenses, staff missions, expenses for the socio-medical infrastructure and representation costs.
Title 2 budget lines relate to all infrastructure, equipment and miscellaneous administrative expenditure.
Title 3 budget lines provide for the implementation of the activities and tasks assigned to BBI JU in
accordance with its establishing Council Regulation (EC) No 560/2014.
1.3. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BUDGETARY IMPLEMENTATION
The Governing Board adopted the original 2019 budget for the BBI JU for the global amount of
EUR 141.3 million in commitment appropriations (CA) and EUR 199.2 million in payment appropriations
(PA) in December 2018. In March 2019, the budget was amended in order to (i) enter the unused CA and
PA of administrative expenditure in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the previous three
financial years, and to (ii) to reduce the PA amount of the operational expenditure. The amended budget
amounted to EUR 141.6 million in CA and EUR 182.1 million in PA.
The overall budget implementation of the total BBI 2019 budget was very good, 87% in CA and 76% in
PA.
The management of BBI JU’s 2019 administrative budget was characterised by the fact that it was half
constituted by appropriations related to the budget year and half by unused appropriations from previous
years.
In contrast to 2018, the BBI JU administrative budget included a relatively large surplus of unused budget from prior years (mainly 2017 and 2018). Of these unused appropriations, amounting to EUR 3 million in
administrative CA as well as EUR 25.5 million in operational and EUR 3 million in administrative PA, part were reactivated in the original voted budget and part via an amendment to the annual work plan and budget in March 2019. These reactivated appropriations were consumed in priority in line with BBI’s Financial Rules art. 6(5), and reached almost 100% consumption by year end.
At the end of 2019, there was a surplus of unused CA and PA of around kEUR 494 in administrative CA and of EUR 1.4 million in administrative PA. In operational CA this was around EUR 17.3 million and in operational PA EUR 43 million.
A Governing Board decision was taken at the end of 2019 to reactivate EUR 1 million in administrative CA and EUR 1.2 million in administrative PA (both from 2018) as well as EUR 20.4 million in operational CA and EUR 28.8 million in operational PA in the 2020 budget. The operational CA include EUR 13.4 million
from 2017 and 2018 and the operational PA EUR 7.8 million from 2018. Further reactivations (covering 2018 and 2019 surpluses) are to be envisaged in 2020 via a budgetary amendment.
Administrative expenditure
The total consumption of the (amended) administrative budget was 92% in CA and 78% in PA.
Title 1: Staff related costs such as salaries, other staff costs and missions showed a strong execution in CA (94%, 90% and 100% respectively) representing a significant amount of over EUR 2.8 million. Overall the execution of CA in Title 1 is 91% and in PA 82% of the amended administrative budget.
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Title 2: The infrastructure budget achieved an execution of 92% in the CA of the amended 2019 budget.
Communication, building costs and contracting of experts incurred the highest costs in 2019, amounting to
kEUR 733, kEUR 314 and kEUR 998 respectively. The budget related to the evaluators’ contracting and payment was executed by the Research Executive Agency on behalf of BBI JU.134 Underspending was recorded for formal meetings (37%), for which the reimbursements were much lower than anticipated and studies/consultancy (62%) for which a large amount was budgeted for a study, and the actual costs was half the forecast amount. The overall PA consumption in Title 2 is 73% of the amended 2019 budget.
Operational expenditure
Concerning the CA of the operational budget, the Programme Office concluded 17 grant agreements from
Call 2018 for a total grant value of EUR 102.9 million resulting in a 89% execution of CA envisaged for this
Call (EUR 85.8 million).
The 2019 call was committed for EUR 118.2 million. The evaluation was successfully concluded by the end
of 2019.
In respect of the PA, the Programme Office achieved a 76% execution of the 2019 budget, with pre-
financing payments for the grants of Call 2018 together with payments of periodic reports for grants from
the previous BBI JU Calls. The execution progressed compared to the previous year despite delays with
some periodic reports and the amounts of certain cost claims being below the anticipated level.
19 pre-financings were paid for a total amount of EUR 82.3 million. The pre-financing rates were increased
to 80% of the maximum grant amount.
Regarding the payment of the periodic reports, BBI JU Programme Office dealt with 44 periodic reports
claiming a total contribution of EUR 70.4 million, which led to 43 payments in 2019 for a total of EUR 51.1 million.
134 EUR 998 140 was committed by the REA in 2019, transferred by the EC on behalf of BBI JU for the management and payment of the
BBI JU experts-evaluators for its Call for proposals 2019. The provisional execution to date of these appropriations was notified by REA in mid-January 2019, is EUR 945 082 with further payments possibly due.
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2. RESULT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
BUDGET
EUR '000
Title 2019 2018
Revenue 154 053 116 411
of which:
EU (incl. EFTA) contribution to administrative 1 1 513 2 476
EU (incl. EFTA) contribution to operational 1 148 520 111 452
Bio-based Industries Consortium contribution to administrative 1 1 513 2 476
Bio-based Industries Consortium contribution to operational 1 2 501 –
JU revenues 1 6 8
Expenditure (138 163) (83 396)
of which:
Staff expenditure 1 (2 575) (2 372)
Administrative expenditure 2 (2 170) (1 851)
Operational expenditure 3 (133 418) (79 173)
Exchange rate differences 0 (0)
Budget result 15 890 33 015
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3. RECONCILIATION OF ECONOMIC RESULT WITH
BUDGET RESULT
EUR '000
2019 2018
ECONOMIC RESULT OF THE YEAR (124 932) (120 692)
Adjustment for accrual items (items not in the budgetary result but
included in the economic result) 50 531 58 110
Adjustments for accrual cut-off (net) 50 555 58 102
Depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible and tangible assets 14 15
Other individually immaterial (38) (7) Adjustment for budgetary items (item included in the budgetary
result but not in the economic result) 90 291 95 597
Members' cash contributions collected in the year 154,046 116,404
Asset acquisitions (less unpaid amounts) (28) (7)
Payments made from non-budget lines – –
New pre-financing paid in the year and remaining open as at 31 December (63,725) (20,797)
Other individually immaterial (2) (3)
BUDGET RESULT OF THE YEAR 15 890 33 015
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4. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET REVENUE
4.1. Implementation of budget revenue – Title 1
EUR '000
Income
appropriations Entitlements established Revenue
Out- standing
Item Initial budget
Final budget
Current year
Carried over Total On
entitlements of current
year
On entitlements carried
over
Total %
1 2 3 4 5=3+4 6 7 8=6+7 9=8/2 10=5-8
1001 EU (incl. EFTA) contribution to administrative
1 513 1 513 1 513 – 1 513 1 513 – 1 513 100 % –
1002 EU (incl. EFTA) contribution to operational
166 520 148 520 148 520 – 148 520 148 520 – 148 520 100 % –
1003 Bio-based Industries Consortium contribution to administrative
1 513 1 513 1 513 – 1 513 1 513 – 1 513 100 % –
1004 Bio-based Industries Consortium contribution to operational
2 000 2 000 2 501 – 2 501 2 501 – 2 501 125 % –
1005 JU revenues – – 6 – 6 6 – 6 - –
Total Chapter 10 171 546 153 546 154 053 – 154 053 154 053 – 154 053 100 % –
Total Title 1 171 546 153 546 154 053 – 154 053 154 053 – 154 053 100 % –
GRAND TOTAL 171 546 153 546 154 053 – 154 053 154 053 – 154 053 100 % –
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
311
5. IMPLEMENTATION OF BUDGET EXPENDITURE
5.1. Breakdown & changes in commitment appropriations
5.1.1. Breakdown & changes in commitment appropriations – Title 1
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total
appropr. available Item
Initial adopted budget
Amending budgets
Transfers Final budget
adopted Carry-overs
Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
1100 Staff costs 502 – (0) 501 1 742 – 1 742 2 243
1110 Trainees and interim staff 266 – – 266 102 – 102 369
Total Chapter 11 768 – (0) 768 1 844 – 1 844 2 612
1200 Sundry recruitment expenses – – – – 46 – 46 46
1201 Installation resettlement and daily subsistence allowances and removal and travel expenses
60 – – 60 – – – 60
Total Chapter 12 60 – – 60 46 – 46 106
1300 Mission expenses, duty travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure
– – – – 73 – 73 73
Total Chapter 13 – – – – 73 – 73 73
1400 Medical service 6 – – 6 9 – 9 16
1401 Mobility costs and other social expenses for staff 59 – – 59 71 – 71 130
1402 Training 33 – – 33 69 – 69 102
Total Chapter 14 98 – – 98 149 – 149 247
1500 Entertainment and representation expenses 10 – 0 10 7 – 7 17
Total Chapter 15 10 – 0 10 7 – 7 17
Total Title 1 936 – – 936 2 118 – 2 118 3 054
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
312
5.1.2. Breakdown & changes in commitment appropriations – Title 2
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total
appropr. available
Item Initial
adopted budget
Amending budgets
Transfers Final budget
adopted Carry-overs
Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
2000 Rentals 305 – 9 314 12 – 12 327
2010 Charges and works 11 – (11) – – – – –
Total Chapter 20 316 – (2) 314 12 – 12 327
2100 IT equipment & software purchase/development costs – – – – 77 – 77 77
2101 Other IT costs 169 – – 169 61 – 61 230
Total Chapter 21 169 – – 169 137 – 137 306
2200 Movable property and associated office equipment purchase costs
5 – – 5 – – – 5
Total Chapter 22 5 – – 5 – – – 5
2300 Stationery and office supplies – – – – 20 – 20 20
2302 Legal expenditure 10 – (9) 1 – – – 1
2303 Other current administrative expenditure – – – – 1 – 1 1
Total Chapter 23 10 – (9) 1 21 – 21 22
2400 Telecommunications and postal charges 11 – – 11 7 5 12 23
Total Chapter 24 11 – – 11 7 5 12 23
2500 Expenditure on formal meetings 107 – (11) 96 23 – 23 119
Total Chapter 25 107 – (11) 96 23 – 23 119
2600 Events and campaigns 220 – 16 236 358 – 358 594
2601 Materials – – – – 84 – 84 84
2602 Communications tools – – – – 50 – 50 50
2603 Public relations 0 – – 0 70 – 70 70
Total Chapter 26 220 – 16 236 561 – 561 797
2700 Studies, consultancy and other services 60 – – 60 95 – 95 155
Total Chapter 27 60 – – 60 95 – 95 155
2800 Evaluators' contract and meetings 900 – 50 950 48 – 48 998
Total Chapter 28 900 – 50 950 48 – 48 998
2900 Expert reviewers 291 – (45) 246 – – – 246
Total Chapter 29 291 – (45) 246 – – – 246
Total Title 2 2 089 – (1) 2 088 905 5 910 2 999
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
313
5.1.3. Breakdown & changes in commitment appropriations – Title 3
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total
appropr. available Item
Initial adopted budget
Amending budgets
Transfers Final budget
adopted Carry-overs
Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
3100 Current year call 135 576 – 1 135 577 – – – 135 577
Total Chapter 31 135 576 – 1 135 577 – – – 135 577
Total Title 3 135 576 – 1 135 577 – – – 135 577
GRAND TOTAL 138 602 – 0 138 602 3 023 5 3 028 141 629
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
314
5.2. Breakdown & changes in payment appropriations
5.2.1. Breakdown & changes in payment appropriations – Title 1
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total appropr. available Item
Initial budget adopted
Amending budgets
Transfers Final adopted
budget Carry-overs
Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
1100 Staff costs 415 – (0) 414 1 940 – 1 940 2 354
1110 Trainees and interim staff 317 – – 317 68 – 68 385
Total Chapter 11 732 – (0) 732 2 008 – 2 008 2 739
1200 Sundry recruitment expenses 8 – – 8 24 – 24 32
1201 Installation resettlement and daily subsistence allowances and removal and travel expenses
60 – – 60 – – – 60
Total Chapter 12 68 – – 68 24 – 24 92
1300 Mission expenses, duty travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure
8 – – 8 62 – 62 70
Total Chapter 13 8 – – 8 62 – 62 70
1400 Medical service 6 – – 6 14 – 14 20
1401 Mobility costs and other social expenses for staff 67 – – 67 65 – 65 132
1402 Training 33 – – 33 53 – 53 86
Total Chapter 14 106 – – 106 131 – 131 238
1500 Entertainment and representation expenses 10 – 0 10 5 – 5 15
Total Chapter 15 10 – 0 10 5 – 5 15
Total Title 1 924 – – 924 2 230 – 2 230 3 154
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
315
5.2.2. Breakdown & changes in payment appropriations – Title 2
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total
appropr. available
Item Initial budget
adopted Amending budgets
Transfers Final
adopted budget
Carry-overs Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
2000 Rentals 305 – (0) 305 9 – 9 314
2010 Charges and works 11 – 2 13 – – – 13
Total Chapter 20 316 – 2 318 9 – 9 327
2100 IT equipment & software purchase/development costs
7 – – 7 72 – 72 79
2101 Other IT costs 169 – (1) 169 50 – 50 219
Total Chapter 21 177 – (1) 176 122 – 122 298
2200 Movable property and associated office equipment purchase costs
5 – – 5 6 – 6 11
Total Chapter 22 5 – – 5 6 – 6 11
2300 Stationery and office supplies – – – – 19 – 19 19
2302 Legal expenditure 10 – – 10 – – – 10
2303 Other current administrative expenditure – – – – 12 – 12 12
Total Chapter 23 10 – – 10 31 – 31 41
2400 Telecommunications and postal charges 11 – – 11 4 5 9 20
Total Chapter 24 11 – – 11 4 5 9 20
2500 Expenditure on formal meetings 76 – (8) 67 34 – 34 102
Total Chapter 25 76 – (8) 67 34 – 34 102
2600 Events and campaigns 251 – (2) 249 377 – 377 627
2601 Materials – – – – 70 – 70 70
2602 Communications tools – – – – 37 – 37 37
2603 Public relations – – – – 15 – 15 15
Total Chapter 26 251 – (2) 249 500 – 500 749
2700 Studies, consultancy and other services 65 – – 65 90 – 90 155
Total Chapter 27 65 – – 65 90 – 90 155
2800 Evaluators' contract and meetings 900 – 58 958 40 – 40 998
Total Chapter 28 900 – 58 958 40 – 40 998
2900 Expert reviewers 291 – (50) 241 16 – 16 257
Total Chapter 29 291 – (50) 241 16 – 16 257
Total Title 2 2 102 – (1) 2 101 851 5 857 2 957
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
316
5.2.3. Breakdown & changes in payment appropriations – Title 3
EUR '000
Budget appropriations Additional appropriations Total appropr. available Item
Initial budget adopted
Amending budgets
Transfers Final adopted
budget Carry-overs
Assigned revenue
Total
1 2 3 4=1+2+3 5 6 7=5+6 8=4+7
3000 Previous years' calls 168 520 (18 000) (56 819) 93 701 – – – 93 701
Total Chapter 30 168 520 (18 000) (56 819) 93 701 – – – 93 701
3100 Current year call – – 56 819 56 819 25 487 – 25 487 82 306
Total Chapter 31 – – 56 819 56 819 25 487 – 25 487 82 306
Total Title 3 168 520 (18 000) 1 150 521 25 487 – 25 487 176 007
GRAND TOTAL 171 546 (18 000) – 153 546 28 568 5 28 573 182 119
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
317
5.3. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENT APPROPRIATIONS
5.3.1. Implementation of commitment appropriations - Title 1
EUR '000
Total
approp. availabl
e
Commitments made Appropriations carried over
to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Assign. revenue
By decision
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
1100 Staff costs 2 243 369 1 742 – 2 111 94 % – – – 132 – – 132
1110 Trainees and interim staff
369 241 102 – 344 93 % – – – 25 – – 25
Total Chapter 11 2 612 610 1 844 – 2 454 94 % – – – 157 – – 157
1200 Sundry recruitment expenses
46 – 11 – 11 24 % – – – – 35 – 35
1201
Installation resettlement and daily subsistence allowances and removal and travel expenses
60 – – – – 0 % – – – 60 – – 60
Total Chapter 12 106 – 11 – 11 10 % – – – 60 35 – 95
1300
Mission expenses, duty travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure
73 – 73 – 73 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 13 73 – 73 – 73 100 % – – – – – – –
1400 Medical service 16 5 9 – 14 90 % – – – 2 – – 2
1401 Mobility costs and other social expenses for staff
130 57 60 – 117 90 % – – – 2 11 – 13
1402 Training 102 33 69 – 102 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 14 247 95 138 – 233 94 % – – – 3 11 – 14
1500 Entertainment and representation expenses
17 10 7 – 17 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 15 17 10 7 – 17 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Title 1 3 054 716 2 072 – 2 788 91 % – – – 221 45 – 266
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
318
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
319
5.3.2. Implementation of commitment appropriations - Title 2
EUR '000
Total
approp. availabl
e
Commitments made Appropriations carried over
to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Assign. revenue
By decision
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+
11+12
2000 Rentals 327 302 12 – 314 96 % – – – 13 – – 13
Total Chapter 20 327 302 12 – 314 96 % – – – 13 – – 13
2100
IT equipment & software purchase/development costs
77 – 73 – 73 95 % – – – – 3 – 3
2101 Other IT costs 230 159 61 – 220 96 % – – – 10 0 – 10
Total Chapter 21 306 159 134 – 293 96 % – – – 10 3 – 13
2200
Movable property and associated office equipment purchase costs
5 4 – – 4 83 % – – – 1 – – 1
Total Chapter 22 5 4 – – 4 83 % – – – 1 – – 1
2300 Stationery and office supplies
20 – 20 – 20 100 % – – – – – – –
2302 Legal expenditure 1 – – – – 0 % – – – 1 – – 1
2303 Other current administrative expenditure
1 – 1 – 1 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 23 22 – 21 – 21 95 % – – – 1 – – 1
2400 Telecommunications and postal charges
23 9 7 4 20 89 % – – – 1 – 1 2
Total Chapter 24 23 9 7 4 20 89 % – – – 1 – 1 2
2500 Expenditure on formal meetings
119 38 6 – 44 37 % – – – 58 17 – 75
Total Chapter 25 119 38 6 – 44 37 % – – – 58 17 – 75
2600 Events and campaigns 594 233 340 – 573 97 % – – – 2 18 – 20
2601 Materials 84 – 65 – 65 78 % – – – – 19 – 19
2602 Communications tools 50 – 35 – 35 70 % – – – – 15 – 15
2603 Public relations 70 – 60 – 60 85 % – – – 0 10 – 10
Total Chapter 26 797 233 500 – 733 92 % – – – 2 62 – 64
2700 Studies, consultancy and other services
155 47 50 – 97 62 % – – – 13 45 – 58
Total Chapter 27 155 47 50 – 97 62 % – – – 13 45 – 58
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
320
EUR '000
Total
approp. availabl
e
Commitments made Appropriations carried over
to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Assign. revenue
By decision
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
2800 Evaluators' contract and meetings
998 950 48 – 998 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 28 998 950 48 – 998 100 % – – – – – – –
2900 Expert reviewers 246 246 – – 246 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 29 246 246 – – 246 100 % – – – – – – –
Total Title 2 2 999 1 989 778 4 2 771 92 % – – – 100 127 1 228
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
321
5.3.3. Implementation of commitment appropriations - Title 3
EUR '000
Total approp. availabl
e
Commitments made Appropriations carried over
to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Assign. revenue
By decision
Total from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9=7+8 10 11 12
13=10+ 11+12
3100 Current year call 135 577 118 230 – – 118 230 87 % – – – 17 347 – – 17 347
Total Chapter 31 135 577 118 230 – – 118 230 87 % – – – 17 347 – – 17 347
Total Title 3 135 577 118 230 – – 118 230 87 % – – – 17 347 – – 17 347
GRAND TOTAL 141 629 120 934 2 850 4 123 788 87 % – – – 17 667 173 1 17 841
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
322
5.4. IMPLEMENTATION OF PAYMENT APPROPRIATIONS
5.4.1. Implementation of payment appropriations - Title 1
EUR '000
Total
approp. availab.
Payments made Appropriations carried over to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Autom. carry-overs
By decision
Assigned rev.
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assig. rev.
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9
10=7+8+9
11 12 13 14=11+ 12+13
1100 Staff costs 2 354 267 1 770 – 2 036 86 % – – – – 148 170 – 318
1110 Trainees and interim staff
385 190 68 – 258 67 % – – – – 127 – – 127
Total Chapter 11 2 739 457 1 838 – 2 294 84 % – – – – 275 170 – 445
1200 Sundry recruitment expenses
32 – 6 – 6 18 % – – – – 8 18 – 26
1201
Installation resettlement and daily subsistence allowances and removal and travel expenses
60 – – – – 0 % – – – – 60 – – 60
Total Chapter 12 92 – 6 – 6 6 % – – – – 68 18 – 86
1300
Mission expenses, duty travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure
70 8 60 – 67 96 % – – – – 0 2 – 3
Total Chapter 13 70 8 60 – 67 96 % – – – – 0 2 – 3
1400 Medical service 20 – 14 – 14 68 % – – – – 6 0 – 6
1401
Mobility costs and other social expenses for staff
132 50 55 – 105 80 % – – – – 17 10 – 27
1402 Training 86 23 52 – 75 87 % – – – – 10 1 – 11
Total Chapter 14 238 73 121 – 194 81 % – – – – 34 11 – 44
1500 Entertainment and
15 10 4 – 14 95 % – – – – 0 1 – 1
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
323
EUR '000
Total approp. availab.
Payments made Appropriations carried over to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Autom. carry-overs
By decision
Assigned rev.
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assig. rev.
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9
10=7+8+9
11 12 13 14=11+ 12+13
representation expenses
Total Chapter 15 15 10 4 – 14 95 % – – – – 0 1 – 1
Total Title 1 3 154 547 2 028 – 2 575 82 % – – – – 377 202 – 579
5.4.2. Implementation of payment appropriations - Title 2
EUR '000
Total
approp. availab.
Payments made Appropriations carried over to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Autom. carry-overs
By decision
Assigned rev.
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assig. rev.
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9
10=7+8+9
11 12 13 14=11+ 12+13
2000 Rentals 314 305 8 – 312 100 % – – – – – 1 – 1
2010 Charges and works
13 13 – – 13 100 % – – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 20 327 318 8 – 326 100 % – – – – – 1 – 1
2100
IT equipment & software purchase/development costs
79 6 43 – 49 62 % – – – – 1 28 – 30
2101 Other IT costs 219 136 50 – 187 85 % – – – – 32 – – 32
Total Chapter 21 298 142 94 – 236 79 % – – – – 34 28 – 62
2200
Movable property and associated office equipment purchase costs
11 3 4 – 7 68 % – – – – 2 2 – 3
Total Chapter 22 11 3 4 – 7 68 % – – – – 2 2 – 3
2300 Stationery and office supplies
19 – 19 – 19 99 % – – – – – 0 – 0
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
324
EUR '000
Total approp. availab.
Payments made Appropriations carried over to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Autom. carry-overs
By decision
Assigned rev.
Total
from final
adopt. budget
from carry-overs
from assig. rev.
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9
10=7+8+9
11 12 13 14=11+ 12+13
2302 Legal expenditure 10 – – – – 0 % – – – – 10 – – 10
2303 Other current administrative expenditure
12 – 11 – 11 94 % – – – – – 1 – 1
Total Chapter 23 41 – 30 – 30 73 % – – – – 10 1 – 11
2400 Telecommunications and postal charges
20 10 4 5 19 96 % – – – – 1 – – 1
Total Chapter 24 20 10 4 5 19 96 % – – – – 1 – – 1
2500 Expenditure on formal meetings
102 9 34 – 44 43 % – – – – 58 – – 58
Total Chapter 25 102 9 34 – 44 43 % – – – – 58 – – 58
2600 Events and campaigns
627 0 47 – 47 7 % – – – – 249 331 – 580
2601 Materials 70 – 70 – 70 100 % – – – – – – – –
2602 Communications tools
37 – 37 – 37 100 % – – – – – – – –
2603 Public relations 15 – 15 – 15 100 % – – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 26 749 0 169 – 169 23 % – – – – 249 331 – 580
2700 Studies, consultancy and other services
155 47 78 – 125 81 % – – – – 18 12 – 30
Total Chapter 27 155 47 78 – 125 81 % – – – – 18 12 – 30
2800 Evaluators' contract and meetings
998 958 40 – 998 100 % – – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 28 998 958 40 – 998 100 % – – – – – – – –
2900 Expert reviewers 257 201 15 – 216 84 % – – – – 40 1 – 41
Total Chapter 29 257 201 15 – 216 84 % – – – – 40 1 – 41
Total Title 2 2 957 1 689 475 5 2 170 73 % – – – – 411 376 – 788
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
325
5.4.3. Implementation of payment appropriations - Title 3
EUR '000
Total
approp. availab.
Payments made Appropriations carried over to 2020 Appropriations lapsing
Item
from final
adopt.
budget
from carry-overs
from assign. revenue
Total % Autom. carry-overs
By decision
Assigned rev.
Total
from final
adopt.
budget
from carry-overs
from assig. rev.
Total
1 2 3 4 5=2+3+
4 6=5/1 7 8 9
10=7+8+9
11 12 13 14=11+ 12+13
3000 Previous years' calls
93 701 51 112 – – 51 112 55 % – – – – 42 590 – – 42 590
Total Chapter 30 93 701 51 112 – – 51 112 55 % – – – – 42 590 – – 42 590
3100 Current year call
82 306 56 819 25 487 – 82 306 100 % – – – – – – – –
Total Chapter 31 82 306 56 819 25 487 – 82 306 100 % – – – – – – – –
Total Title 3 176 007 107 931 25 487 – 133 418 76 % – – – – 42 590 – – 42 590
GRAND TOTAL 182 119 110 168 27 990 5 138 163 76 % – – – – 43 378 578 – 43 956
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
326
6. OUTSTANDING COMMITMENTS
6.1. Outstanding commitments – Title 1
EUR '000
Commitments outstanding at the end of
previous year Commitments of the current year
Total commitm.
outstanding at year-end Item
Commitm. carried for- ward from
pre- vious year
Decommit. Revaluation
Cancel- lations
Pay- ments
Total
Commit- ments made during the
year
Pay- ments
Cancel- lation
of commit. which cannot be carried forward
Commit. outstand-
ing at year-end
1 2 3 4=1+2-3 5 6 7 8=5-6-7 9=4+8
1100 Staff costs 34 (33) 1 0 2 111 2 035 – 76 76
1110 Trainees and interim staff 13 (3) 10 – 344 248 – 96 96
1120 Other services rendered 2 (2) – – – – – – –
Total chapter 11 48 (37) 11 0 2 454 2 283 – 171 171
1200 Sundry recruitment expenses 4 (4) – – 11 6 – 5 5
Total chapter 12 4 (4) – – 11 6 – 5 5
1300 Mission expenses, duty travel expenses and other ancillary expenditure
7 (5) 2 – 73 66 – 7 7
Total chapter 13 7 (5) 2 – 73 66 – 7 7
1400 Medical service 5 (1) 4 – 14 10 – 4 4
1401 Mobility costs and other social expenses for staff
7 – 7 – 117 98 – 19 19
1402 Training 33 (15) 14 5 102 61 – 41 46
Total chapter 14 45 (15) 24 5 233 169 – 64 69
1500 Entertainment and representation expenses
– – – – 17 14 – 3 3
Total chapter 15 – – – – 17 14 – 3 3
Total Title 1 103 (61) 37 5 2 788 2 538 – 250 255
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
327
6.2. Outstanding commitments – Title 2
EUR '000
Commitments outstanding at the end of previous
year Commitments of the current year
Total commitm.
outstanding at year-end Item
Commitm. carried for-
ward from pre- vious year
Decommit. Revaluation
Cancel- lations
Pay- ments
Total
Commit- ments made during the
year
Pay- ments
Cancel- lation
of commit. which cannot be carried forward
Commit. outstand-
ing at year-end
1 2 3 4=1+2-3 5 6 7 8=5-6-7 9=4+8
2000 Rentals 25 (17) 8 – 314 304 – 10 10
2010 Charges and works 13 – 13 – – – – – –
Total chapter 20 38 (17) 22 – 314 304 – 10 10
2100 IT equipment & software purchase/development costs
30 (0) 20 10 73 29 – 44 54
2101 Other IT costs 25 (4) 21 – 220 165 – 54 54
Total chapter 21 55 (4) 42 10 293 195 – 99 108
2200 Movable property and associated office equipment purchase costs
4 (0) 3 – 4 4 – – –
Total chapter 22 4 (0) 3 – 4 4 – – –
2300 Stationery and office supplies 5 – 5 – 20 14 – 6 6
2303 Other current administrative expenditure
10 – 10 – 1 1 – 0 0
Total chapter 23 15 – 15 – 21 15 – 6 6
2400 Telecommunications and postal charges
10 (4) 6 – 20 14 – 7 7
Total chapter 24 10 (4) 6 – 20 14 – 7 7
2500 Expenditure on formal meetings
3 (2) 1 – 44 42 – 2 2
Total chapter 25 3 (2) 1 – 44 42 – 2 2
2600 Events and campaigns 6 (5) 1 (0) 573 46 – 527 527
2601 Materials 21 (15) 7 – 65 63 – 1 1
2602 Communications tools 20 (3) 17 – 35 20 – 15 15
2603 Public relations – – – – 60 15 – 45 45
Total chapter 26 47 (23) 24 (0) 733 145 – 588 588
2700 Studies, consultancy and other services
53 – 32 21 97 93 – 3 24
Total chapter 27 53 – 32 21 97 93 – 3 24
2800 Evaluators' contract and meetings
– – – – 998 998 – – –
Total chapter 28 – – – – 998 998 – – –
2900 Expert reviewers 42 (1) 40 – 246 176 – 71 71
Total chapter 29 42 (1) 40 – 246 176 – 71 71
Total Title 2 267 (52) 184 31 2 771 1 986 – 785 816
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
328
6.3. Outstanding commitments – Title 3
EUR '000
Commitments outstanding at the end of previous
year Commitments of the current year
Total commitm.
outstanding at year-end Item
Commitm. carried for-
ward from pre- vious year
Decommit. Revaluation
Cancel- lations
Pay- ments
Total
Commit- ments made
during the year
Pay- ments
Cancel- lation
of commit. which cannot be carried forward
Commit. outstand-
ing at year-end
1 2 3 4=1+2-3 5 6 7 8=5-6-7 9=4+8
3000 Previous years' calls 256 698 (8 144) 51 112 197 443 – – – – 197 443
Total chapter 30 256 698 (8 144) 51 112 197 443 – – – – 197 443
3100 Current year call 115 998 (12 777) 82 305 20 916 118 230 1 – 118 229 139 145
Total chapter 31 115 998 (12 777) 82 305 20 916 118 230 1 – 118 229 139 145
Total Title 3 372 696 (20 920) 133 417 218 359 118 230 1 – 118 229 336 588
GRAND TOTAL 373 067 (21 034) 133 638 218 395 123 788 4 525 – 119 264 337 659
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
329
7. GLOSSARY
ABAC
This is the name given to the Commission’s accounting system, which since 2005 has been enriched by accrual accounting rules. Apart from the cash-based budget accounts, the Commission produces accrual-based accounts which recognise revenue when earned, rather than when collected. Expenses are recognised when incurred rather than when paid. This contrasts with cash basis budgetary accounting that recognises transactions and other events only when cash is received or paid.
Accounting
The act of recording and reporting financial transactions, including the creation of the transaction, its recognition, processing, and summarisation in the financial statements.
Accounting Officer
The role, powers and responsibilities of the accounting officer are set out in the Financial Regulation:
proper implementation of payments,
collection of revenue,
recovery of amounts and offsetting,
keeping, preparing and presenting the accounts,
laying down the accounting rules and methods and the chart of accounts,
laying down and validating the accounting systems and validating systems laid down by the authorising officer to supply or justify accounting information (local systems),
treasury management,
designation of the Imprest Administrators,
opening and closing bank accounts in the name of the Institution.
Administrative appropriations
Administrative appropriations cover the running costs of the Institutions and entities (staff, buildings, office equipment).
Adjustment
Amending budget or transfer of funds from one budget item to another.
Adopted budget
Draft budget becomes the adopted budget as soon as approved by the Budgetary Authority.
Cf. Budget
Agencies
EU bodies having a distinct legal personality, and to whom budget implementing powers may be delegated under strict conditions. They are subject to a distinct discharge from the discharge authority.
Amending budget
Decision adopted during the budget year to amend (increase, decrease, transfer) aspects of the adopted
budget of that year.
Annuality
The budgetary principle according to which expenditure and revenue is programmed and authorised for one year, starting on 1 January and ending on 31 December.
Appropriations
Budget funding.
The budget forecasts both commitments (legal pledges to provide finance, provided that certain conditions are fulfilled) and payments (cash or bank transfers to the beneficiaries). Appropriations for commitments and payments often differ — differentiated appropriations — because multiannual programmes and projects
Annual accounts of the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking 2019
330
are usually fully committed in the year they are decided and are paid over the years as the implementation
of the programme and project progresses. Non-differentiated appropriations apply to administrative
expenditure and commitment appropriations equal payment appropriations.
Assigned revenue External/Internal
Dedicated revenue received to finance specific items of expenditure.
Main sources of external assigned revenue are financial contributions from third countries to programmes financed by the Union.
Main sources of internal assigned revenue are revenue from third parties in respect of goods, services or work supplied at their request, revenue arising from the repayment of amounts wrongly paid and revenue from the sale of publications and films, including those on an electronic medium.
The complete list of items constituting assigned revenue is given in the Financial Regulation Art. 21.
Authorising Officer by Delegation (AOD)
The AOD is responsible in each entity for authorising revenue and expenditure operations in accordance with the principles of sound financial management and for ensuring that the requirements of legality and
regularity are complied with.
The AOD is responsible for taking all financial decision concerning actions under his/her responsibility. Particularly, he/she must take decisions to implement the budget based on his/her risk analysis.
Budget
Annual financial plan, drawn up according to budgetary principles, that provides forecasts and authorises, for each financial year, an estimate of future costs and revenue and expenditures and their detailed description and justification, the latter included in budgetary remarks.
Budget result
The difference between income received and amounts paid, including adjustments for carry-overs, cancellations and exchange rate differences.
For agencies, the resulting amount will have to be reimbursed to the funding authority as provided in the
Financial Regulation for agencies.
Budget implementation
Consumption of the budget through expenditure and revenue operations.
Budget item / Budget line / Budget position
As far as the budget structure is concerned, revenue and expenditure are shown in the budget in accordance with a binding nomenclature, which reflects the nature and purpose of each item, as imposed by the budgetary authority. The individual headings (title, chapter, article or item) provide a formal description of the nomenclature.
Budgetary authority
Institutions with decisional powers on budgetary matters: for the EU institutions, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers.
For the agencies and joint undertakings, their board is the budgetary authority.
Budgetary commitment
A budgetary commitment is a reservation of appropriations to cover for subsequent expenses.
Cancellation of appropriations
Unused appropriations that may no longer be used.
Carryover of appropriations
Exception to the principle of annuality in so far as appropriations that could not be used in a given budget year may, under strict conditions, be exceptionally carried over for use during the following year.
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Commitment appropriations
Commitment appropriations cover the total cost of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) that could be signed in the current financial year. Financial Regulation Art. 7: Commitment appropriations cover the total cost in the current financial year of legal obligations (contracts, grant agreements/decisions) entered into for operations extending over more than one year.
De-commitment
Cancellation of a reservation of appropriations.
Differentiated appropriations
Differentiated appropriations are used to finance multiannual operations; they cover, for the current financial year, the total cost of the legal obligations entered into for operations whose
implementation extends over more than one financial year. Financial Regulation Art. 7: Differentiated appropriations are entered for multiannual operations. They consist of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations.
Earmarked revenue
Revenue earmarked for a specific purpose, such as income from foundations, subsidies, gifts and bequests, including the earmarked revenue specific to each institution.
Cf. Assigned revenue
Economic result
Impact on the balance sheet of expenditure and revenue based on accrual accounting rules.
Entitlements established
Entitlements are recovery orders that the European Union must establish for collecting income.
Exchange rate difference
The difference resulting from currency exchange rates applied to the transactions concerning countries outside the euro area, or from the revaluation of assets and liabilities in foreign currency at the closure.
Expenditure
Term used to describe spending the budget from all types of funds sources.
Financial regulation (FR)
Adopted through the ordinary legislative procedure after consulting the European Court of Auditors, this regulation lays down the rules for the establishment and implementation of the general budget of the European Union.
For reference, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union
Funds Source
Type of appropriations
Grants
Direct financial contributions, by way of donation, from the budget in order to finance either an action intended to help achieve an objective part of an EU policy or the functioning of a body, which pursues an aim of general European interest or has an objective forming part of an EU policy.
Implementation
Cf. Budget implementation
Income
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Cf. Revenue
Joint Undertakings (JUs)
A legal EU-body established under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The term can be used to describe any collaborative structure proposed for the "efficient execution of Union research, technological development and demonstration programmes".
Lapsing appropriations
Unused appropriations to be cancelled at the end of the financial year. Lapsing means the
cancellation of all or part of the authorisation to make expenditures and/or incur liabilities, which is represented by an appropriation.
Only for joint undertakings, as specified in theirs Financial Rules, any unused appropriations may be entered in the estimate of revenue and expenditure of up to the following three financial years (the so-called "N+3" rule). Hence, lapsing appropriations for JUs could be re-activated until financial year "N+3".
Legal base (basic act)
The legal base or basis is, as a general rule, a law based on an article in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union giving competence to the Community for a specific policy area and setting out the conditions for fulfilling that competence including budget implementation. Certain articles from the treaty authorise the Commission to undertake certain actions, which imply spending, without there being a further legal act.
Legal commitment
A legal commitment establishes a legal obligation towards third parties.
Non-differentiated appropriations
Non-differentiated appropriations are for operations of an annual nature. (Financial Regulation Art. 9). In the EU Budget, non-differentiated appropriations apply to administrative expenditure, for agricultural market support and direct payments.
Operational appropriations
Operational appropriations finance the different policies, mainly in the form of grants or
procurement.
Outstanding commitment
Outstanding commitments (or RAL, from the French ‘reste à liquider’) are defined as the amount of appropriations committed that have not yet been paid or legal commitments having not fully given rise to liquidation by payments. They stem directly from the existence of multiannual programmes and the dissociation between commitment and payment appropriations.
Outturn
Cf. Budget result
Payment
A payment is a disbursement to honour legal obligations.
Payment appropriations
Payment appropriations cover expenditure due in the current year, arising from legal commitments entered in the current year and/or earlier years (Financial Regulation Art. 7).
RAL
Sum of outstanding commitments. Cf. Outstanding commitments
Recovery
The recovery order is the procedure by which the Authorising officer by Delegation (AOD) registers an entitlement by the Commission in order to retrieve the amount, which is due. The entitlement is the right that the Commission has to claim the sum, which is due by a debtor, usually a beneficiary.
333
Result
Cf. Budget result
Revenue
Term used to describe income from all sources financing the budget.
Rules of application
Detailed rules for the implementation of the financial regulation. They are set out in a Commission regulation adopted after consulting all institutions and cannot alter the financial regulation upon
which they depend.
Surplus
Positive difference between revenue and expenditure (Cf. Budget result) which has to be returned to the funding authority as provided in the Financial Regulation.
Transfer
Transfers between budget lines imply the relocation of appropriations from one budget line to another, in the course of the financial year, and thereby they constitute an exception to the
budgetary principle of specification. However, they are expressly authorised by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union under the conditions laid down in the Financial Regulation. The Financial Regulation identifies different types of transfers depending on whether they are between or within budget titles, chapters, articles or headings and require different levels of authorisation.
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7.9. MATERIALITY CRITERIA
The ‘materiality’ concept provides the Authorising Officer with a basis for assessing the
importance of the weaknesses/risks identified and thus whether those weaknesses
should be subject to a formal reservation to his declaration.
When deciding whether something is material, both qualitative and quantitative terms
have been considered.
In qualitative terms, when assessing the significance of any weakness, the following
factors have been taken into account:
The nature and scope of the weakness;
The duration of the weakness;
The existence of compensatory measures (mitigating controls which reduce
the impact of the weakness);
The existence of effective corrective actions to correct the weaknesses (action
plans and financial corrections) which have had a measurable impact.
In quantitative terms, in order to make a judgement on the significance of a weakness,
the potential maximum (financial) impact is quantified.
Whereas the BBI JU control strategy is of a multi-annual nature (i.e. the effectiveness of
the JU’s control strategy can only be assessed at the end of the programme, when the
strategy has been fully implemented and errors detected have been corrected), the ED is
required to sign a declaration of assurance for each financial year. In order to determine
whether to qualify his declaration of assurance with a reservation, the effectiveness of
the JU’s control system must be assessed, not only for the year of reference, but more
importantly, with a multi-annual perspective.
The control objective for BBI JU is set out in the Commission proposal for the Council
Regulation on the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking. The objective is to ensure that
the ‘residual error rate’ - i.e. the level of errors which remain undetected and uncorrected
- on an annual basis can range between two and five per cent, with the ultimate aim of
achieving a residual level of error as close as possible to two per cent at the closure of
the multi-annual programme. Progress towards this objective is to be (re)assessed
annually, in view of the results of the implementation of the ex-post audit strategy. As
long as the residual error rate is not (yet) close to two per cent at the end of a reporting
year within the programme life cycle, the Authorising Officer may also take into account
other management information at his disposal to identify the overall impact of the
situation and determine whether it leads to a reservation.
335
If an adequate calculation of the residual error rate is not possible, for reasons not
involving control deficiencies, the consequences are to be assessed quantitatively by
estimating the likely exposure for the reporting year. The relative impact on the
declaration of assurance would then be considered by analysing the available
information on qualitative grounds and considering evidence from other sources and
areas (e.g. information available on error rates in more experienced organisations with
similar risk profiles).
EFFECTIVENESS OF CONTROLS
The starting point for determining the effectiveness of the controls in place is the
‘representative error rate’ (RepER) expressed as a percentage of errors in favour of the
BBI JU detected by ex-post audits measured with respect to the amounts of BBI JU actual
contributions accepted after ex-ante controls.
The representative error rate will be based on the weighted average error rate (WAER)
for a population, from which a random sample has been drawn according to the following
formula:
WAER%
=
∑ (er) = RepER%
RepA
Where:
Σ (er) = sum of all individual errors the sample (in value). Only the errors in favour of the
JU will be taken into consideration135;
RepA = total amount of the representative audited sample expressed in €.
Second step: calculation of residual error rate.
In order to take into account the impact of the ex-post controls, this error level is to be
adjusted by subtracting:
errors detected and corrected as a result of the implementation of audit conclusions;
errors corrected as a result of the extrapolation of audit results to non-audited contracts
with the same beneficiary.
135 Adjustments in favour of the Beneficiary are considered as 0 for the purpose of calculating the WAER
336
This results in a residual error rate that shows how much error is left in the auditable
population after the outcome of ex-post audits. It is calculated by using the following
formula:
ResER% = [RepER% * (P-A) – RepERsys% * E]
P
Where:
ResER% = residual error rate, expressed as a percentage;
RepER% = representative error rate, or error rate detected in the representative sample,
in the form of the WAER, expressed as a percentage and calculated as described above
(WAER%);
RepERsys% = systematic portion of the RepER% (the RepER% is composed of
complementary portions reflecting the proportion of ‘systematic’ and ‘non-systematic’
errors detected) expressed as a percentage of errors in favour of the BBI JU detected by
ex-post audits measured with respect to the amounts of BBI JU eligible contributions
accepted after ex-ante controls. Only the errors in favour of the JU that are more than 2%
(threshold for extrapolation) will be taken into consideration136.
P = total amount of the auditable population of cost claims, expressed in EUR;
A = total amount of all audited amounts, expressed in EUR.
E = total non-audited amounts of all audited beneficiaries, expressed in EUR. This will
comprise the total amount of all non-audited but validated and paid costs for all audited
beneficiaries, excluding those beneficiaries for which an extrapolation is ongoing.
This calculation will be performed on a point-in-time basis, i.e. all the figures will be provided as of a
certain date.
136 Adjustments in favour of the Beneficiary are considered as 0 for the purpose of calculating the RepERsys.
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7.10. RESULTS OF TECHNICAL REVIEW
Not applicable.
338
7.11. LIST OF MEETINGS, EVENTS AND CONFERENCES WHERE BBI JU PARTICIPATED OR ORGANISED IN 2018
Events 2019
Event Date Place Type of
Participation Organiser
Towards a Circular Bioeconomy in Navarra:
Regional Challenges and European
Opportunities
25 January Pamplona,
Spain Speaker Navarra region; ADItech
The implementation of circular economy to
agriculture and livestock farming 31 January
Thessaloniki,
Greece Speaker HELEXPO
EU Industry Days 2019 5 February Brussels,
Belgium Speaker European Commission
Invaluable supports in climate action from
agriculture and forestry 20 February
Brussels,
Belgium Participant MTK
Public hearing: Civil Society in Action -
European Bioeconomy Strategy 28 February
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker EESC
DanuBioValNet project: “Biopackaging –
Let’s create future together” 6 March
Vienna,
Austria Speaker
Danube Transnational Programme;
Business Upper Austria; ecoplus;
Ministry of Education, Science and
Sport of Slovenia
European Bioeconomy Projects - Focus on
BBI JU 13 March Paris, France Speaker Pole IAR; AXELERA
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Advancing the Creation of Regional
Bioeconomy Clusters in Europe 14 March
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker BBI JU; SCAR
National Info Day 22 March Łódź, Poland Speaker
Regional Contact Point for EU Research
Programs in Lodz; Ministry of Science
and Higher Education; Pro-Akademia
World Bio Markets 1-3 April
Amsterdam,
The
Netherlands
Speaker Bio-based World News
National Info Day 2 April
Kongens
Lyngby,
Denmark
Speaker
Danish Ministry of Education and
Science - Agency for Science and Higher
Education
Towards a circular agro-food industry 4 April Brussels,
Belgium Speaker BIOrescue
Agricultural Research and Innovation: A
basis for the development of European
agriculture, rural areas and bioeconomy
5 April Bucharest,
Romania Speaker Romanian Presidency of the EU Council
Networking seminar on Bioeconomy 11 April Brussels,
Belgium Speaker
Estonian Research Council; University
of Tartu
networX - Inspiring Rural Europe 11 April Brussels,
Belgium Speaker
The European Network for Rural
Development (ENRD)
BBI JU Info Day & Brokerage event 12 April Brussels,
Belgium Organiser BBI JU
National Info Day 15 April Riga, Latvia Speaker State Education Development Agency
Republic of Latvia (SEDA)
National Info Day 16 April Vilnius,
Lithuania Speaker
Lithuanian Agency for Science,
Innovation and Technology
National Info Day 25 April Prague, Czech
Republic Speaker Technology Centre CAS
340
Strategies and opportunities for the bio
industries in Norway 25 April
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Research Council of Norway; NORCORE
National Info Day 29-30 April Tel Aviv, Israel Speaker ISERD
German Webinar on BBI JU Call 2019 30 April online Speaker Federal Ministry of Education and
Research
National Info Day 2 May Manchester,
UK Speaker Knowledge Transfer Network
National Info Day 10-11 May Thessaloniki,
Greece Speaker Greek Bioeconomy Forum
National Info Day 14 May Rome, Italy Speaker APRE - Agency for the Promotion of
European Research
EMBRACED Stakeholder Meeting 14 May Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Fater
Plant Based Summit 22-24 May Lyon, France Speaker Chimie du Vegetal; IAR
National Info Day 22 May Madrid, Spain Speaker CDTI
National Info Day 22 May Limerick,
Ireland Speaker
InterTradeIreland; Dept. of Agriculture,
Environment & Rural Affairs; Dept. of
Agriculture, Food & the Marine; Marine
Institute; University of Limerick
EUBCE 27-30 May Lisbon,
Portugal
Session
Organiser &
exhibitor
European Commission, Joint Research
Centre (JRC)
Austrian World Summit 29 May Vienna,
Austria Speaker
Austrian Ministry of Sustainability and
Tourism
341
EU Green Week partner event: Biowaste
Management and Environmental
Sustainability in EU
6 June Brussels,
Belgium Speaker EUBIA; Biorefine Cluster Europe
Press conference: launch of FARMYNG
project 11 June Paris, France Speaker Ynsect
National Info Day 19 June Gembloux,
Belgium Speaker University of Liège
First2Run final event 20 June Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Novamont
Pilots4U Final Event: Fast forward the
European Bioeconomy 25 June
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant
Blue Bioeconomy Forum Second
Conference 25 June
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker European Commission
BioHorizon SC2 and KET-B Brokerage Event
for 2020 Calls 3 July
Brussels,
Belgium Exhibitor BioHorizon
Opportunities for the Bio-Based industries
in Croatia 4 July
Zagreb,
Croatia Speaker Ministry of Agriculture of Croatia
Working group meeting of the Sectoral
Social Dialogue Committee for Paper
Industry
5 July Brussels,
Belgium Speaker European Commission
European Bioeconomy Scene 2019 8-10 July Helsinki,
Finland Speaker
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of
Finland; European Commission
Bio World Congress 2019 9 – 19 July Des Moines,
USA
Session
Organiser
BIO - Biotechnology Innovation
Organization
Advanced Biofuels: Towards renewable
energy transition in Europe
5
September
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker IBB Netzwerk GmbH
EUCYS Award 17
September Sofia, Bulgaria Sponsor European Commission
342
Webinar on Financing the Bioeconomy 18
September Online Speaker European Commission
Balkan Clean Energy Transition Conference 21
September Kozani, Greece Speaker
Kozani Chamber of Commerce and
Industry; Cluster of Bioeconomy and
Environment of Western Macedonia
(CluBE)
European Research and Innovation Days 24-26
September
Brussels,
Belgium Exhibitor European Commission
EFIB
30
September-
2 October
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker EuropaBio / BIOCOM
Blue Biotech Day Malta 1 October Mosta, Malta Speaker AquaBio Tech Group; Malta Marittima
Financing the Bioeconomy: from bottleneck
to breakthrough 8 October
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Embassy of the Netherlands in Brussels
Official Opening Green Protein Demo Plant 10 October
Dinteloord,
The
Netherlands
Speaker Suiker Unie
Supporting Rural Business Success Across
Europe 24 October
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Rubizmo
Societal and Market Challenges for the
Sustainable Development of Bio-Based
Industries
25 October Athens,
Greece Speaker
Industrial Process Systems Engineering
Unit of the National Technical
University of Athens (IPSEN)
Mobilisation and Mutual
Learning BIOVOICES Workshop 31 October Paris, France Speaker EuBioNet
Bio-based Buildings International
Conference (B3IC) 6 November Paris, France Speaker Paris Region
343
NEW Bio-based Expert Group meeting 7 November Brussels,
Belgium Participant nova-Institut
ECOMONDO 2019 8 November Rimini, Italy Speaker Italian Exhibition Group
BioMonitor Expert Workshop 14
November
Cologne,
Germany Participant nova-Institut
BioHorizon Final Conference 21
November
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker BioHorizon
PRIMA Workshop 21-22
November
Athens,
Greece Speaker
PRIMA Foundation; General Secretariat
for Research & Technology (GSRT),
Greek Ministry of Development &
Investment
European Partnerships – New opportunities
and possibilities to access additional EU
funding (online workshop)
22
November
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker Wielkopolska Region Brussels Office
SusChem Stakeholders’ Event 27
November
Brussels,
Belgium Speaker SusChem
BBI JU Stakeholder Forum 2019 3-4
December
Brussels,
Belgium Organiser BBI JU
Side Event COP25 - Circular Economy
Conference
12
December Madrid, Spain Speaker
Fundación para el Conocimiento
madri+d
344
7.12. LIST OF ACRONYMS
AAR Annual Activity Report
AHP Absorbent Hygiene Products
AWP Annual Work Plan
B2B Business to Business
BBI JU Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking
BIC Bio-based Industries Consortium
BKC European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy
CAS Common Audit Service
CEO chief executive officer
CA Contractual Agent
CAS Common Audit Service of the European Commission for Horizon 2020
CBE Circular Bio-based Europe
CF Carbon Fibre
CONT Committee of the European Parliament
CO2 Carbon dioxide
cPPP Contractual Public-Private Partnership
CRS Common Representative Sample
CSA Coordination and Support Action
CIC Common Implementation Centre for Horizon 2020
DEMOS-IA Innovation Action for demonstrators
DiEPP Dissemination and Exploitation Practitioners’ Platform
DG AGRI Directorate-General Agriculture & Rural Development
DG DIGIT Directorate-General for Informatics
DG GROW Directorate-General Internal Markets, Industry, Entrepreneurship and
SMEs
DG HR Directorate-General for Human Resources
DG RTD Directorate-General Research and Innovation
DMO Document Management Officer
345
DPO Data Protection Officer
EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EC European Commission
ECA European Court of Auditors
EDPS European Data Protection Supervisor
EESC European Economic and Social Committee
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EFIB European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy
EIB European Investment Bank
ESIF European Structural and Investment Funds
EU European Union
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
FAQ Frequently Asked Question
FDCA Furan Dicarboxylic Acid
FR Financial Regulation of the European Union
GA Grant Agreement
GAP Grant Agreement preparation
GB Governing Board of the BBI JU
GERD Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHG Greenhouse Gas
HES Higher or Secondary Education
IAS Internal Audit Service
IAs Innovation Actions
ICF Internal Control Framework
ICS Internal Control Standard
ICT Information and communication technology
IEA International Energy Agency
IFIB International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy
346
IKAA In-kind contributions by BIC’s constituent entities to additional activities
IKOP In-kind contributions by BIC’s constituent entities to operational activities
iPPP Institutionalised public-private partnership
IT Information Technology
JRC Joint Research Centre
JU Joint Undertaking
JURS Joint Undertaking Representative Sample
KPIs Key Performances Indicators
LA Lactic Acid
LCA Life Cycle Analysis
LISO Local Informatics Security Officer
MAE Microwave-Assisted Extraction technology
MEP Member of the European Parliament
MFC Microfibrillated Cellulose
MS Member State of the European Union
MSW Municipal Solid Waste
NCPs National Contact Points for Horizon 2020
NMP N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OFMSW Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste
OIB Office for Infrastructure and Logistics
OLAF European Anti-Fraud Office
OTH Other type of organisations
PA Payments
PEF Polyethylene furanoate
PET Polyethylene terephthalate
PHA Polyhydroxyalkanoates
PHB Polyhydroxybutyrate
PLA PolyLactic Acid
347
PPB Purple Phototrophic Bacteria
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PRC Private- for- Profit
PU Polyurethane
PUB Public Body (excluding research and education)
REA Research Executive Agency
REC Research Organisation
RfP Rules for Participation in Horizon 2020
RIA Research and Innovation Actions
R&D Research and Development
RTO Research and Technology Organisation
SC Scientific Committee of the BBI JU
SCAR Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
SCP Single Cell Protein
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SIAP Strategic Internal Audit Plan
SIRA Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda
SO Strategic Orientation provided in the Strategic Innovation and Research
Agenda
SOP Standard Operating Procedures
SLA Services Legal Agreement
SMART Specific, Measurable, Accepted, Realistic and Time-related
SMEs Small and Medium-Size Enterprises
SDG Sustainable Development Goal
SRC Short-Rotation Coppice
SRG States Representatives Group of the BBI JU
SPIRE Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency
TA Temporary Agent
TRL Technology Readiness Level
TTG Time to Grant
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TTI Time to Inform
TTP Time to Pay
UN United Nations Organisation
URL Uniform Resource Locator
WPC Wood Plastic Composite
